The British are coming… to the Croisette! The British Film Institute (BFI) continued its annual tradition on Thursday, unveiling its “Great 8” lineup for 2026, eight films from “the most exciting first-time and early-career filmmakers” that it will screen to international distributors and festival programmers in the lead-up to and during the Marché du Film market held during the 79th Cannes Film Festival. This year the program shows only first films.
Now in its ninth year, the Great 8 exhibition will screen unseen footage from all titles, submitted by filmmakers, exclusively online to buyers and festival programmers from midday on Friday.
Among the films being presented is the directorial debut of boiling point Actor Ray Panthaki, starring Clarence MacLaine in his first leading role, as well as films starring the likes of Christina Hendricks, Joe Luke and Hiam Abbas.
Bryony Hanson, Director of Film at the British Council, said: “Our annual Great 8 showcase, which has previously supported first- and second-time filmmakers, is fully focused on debuts in its ninth edition.” “With formats and genres ranging from thrillers to experimental films on offer, and films from Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England in the line-up, the selection represents the wide range of new voices and new work happening in the UK, and also symbolizes the importance of collaboration in UK industry, with a number of non-UK-born directors and co-productions in the mix.”
Anieshka Modi, Head of International Relations at the BFI, added: “It’s hugely encouraging to see another fantastic line-up from this year’s strong UK debut of the Great 8 – showcasing a range of unique and original filmmaking voices coming to our industry.”
Among the top 8 films and filmmakers who have achieved international fame and commercial success after last year’s selection is Imran Beretta. Nest Ashley Walters AnimolThe organizers noted.
The previous eight great films also include those of Charlotte Wells afternoonRungano Nyoni I’m not a witchGeorgia Oakley Blue JeanAnd Charlotte Regan scraper.
Here’s a closer look at the Great8’s 2026 title lineup.
Grandparents
Ireland, United Kingdom
drama
Director/Writer: David Turpin
Producers: Miranda Ballesteros, David Collins, Eamonn Hughes
Cast: Ayanna Hardwicke, Jessica Reynolds, Jack Wolfe, Rupert Everett, Christina Hendricks
Production: Screen Ireland, Yellow Moon, Northern Ireland Screen, Samson Films, Lunatica
Sales: Mr. Smith
Synopsis: “A noir love story and metaphysical tale, Ancestors follows Poe (Hardwicke) as he searches 1980s London for his missing friend Tiny (Woolf). Dream and reality, memory and history intertwine, forcing Poe to come face to face with truths beyond life and death.”
Black Church Bay
UK
Mystery drama
Director/Writer: Rhys Mark Jones
Producers: Tristan Goliger, Alex Polunin
Cast: Tom Cullen, Joe Luke, Marley Siu, Raki Ayoola, Dylan Michael (Miles)
Production: BBC Film, Cymru Wales Film, Ossian International, The Office
Sales: office
summary: “Black Church Bay It is a mystery drama about a conflicted young teacher (Colin) who deals with the consequences of the disappearance of a high school student (Luke). It follows the events directly, exploring the lengths a person will go to hide their true self – to save their skin at the expense of their soul.
The daughter of Aden
United Kingdom/Ireland
Psychological thriller
Director/Writer: Fatima Al-Ahmadi
Producers: Jack Tarling, Pietro Greppi
Starring: Yasmine Al-Khudairi, Hiam Abbas, Amir Al-Masry, Lindsay Duncan
Production: BFI, BBC Film, Fís Éireann/ Screen Ireland, Civic Studios, Three Point Capital, Lunapark Pictures, Shudder Films, Newgrange Pictures
Sales: lucky number
Synopsis: London 2006. In the months leading up to the execution of Saddam Hussein, Nessa, an Iraqi-British nurse, meets an older woman named Maryam in the hospital and suspects that she is the government informant responsible for the execution of her parents in Iraq years earlier. Nessa infiltrates Maryam’s life as her nurse, with the aim of finding the truth. To her surprise, Maryam begins to develop a closer relationship with her – but Nessa cannot let go of the obsession. Nyssa’s search for the truth turns into something darker when she finally feels she’s got the right person; Overtaken by anger, she begins to punish Maryam, while neglecting her health, her family, and her career. As the lines between reality and expectation blur, Nessa is forced to face the consequences of her pain.
florid
UK
drama
Director/Writer: Billy Lumby
Producers: Robert Lloyd, Joy Jaruru-Akpogutor
Cast: Jonathan Jules, Saskia Shanna, Unknown T
Production: BBC Film, Film i Väst, Academy Films, Head Gear, An Atar Studios, Joi Productions Filmgate (SE), Metrol Technology, Trigger Films, Red Union Films
Sales: Atar Studios
Synopsis: The film takes place in the world of supported accommodation and psychiatric wards in London. florid It tells the story of Jamal, a young man who hears voices. Struggling to balance his medications with his musical and romantic desires, Jamal’s balance is shaken when Kayla moves in next door. Told from authentic experience from a first-person perspective, florid It is produced with the society in which it exists. It is an emotional and immersive story that seeks to bring the audience into an unseen world.
In Starland
UK
drama
Director: Ray Panthaki
Writer: Ray Panthaki, Jason Cavan
Producers: Daniel Khalili, Ray Panthaki, Daisy Alsop, Victor Paul Wagenberg
Cast: Clarence MacLaine, Bella MacLaine, Miss Penny, Marcus Scribner, Ben Dickey
Production: Le Bateau Lavoir, Arch Face Films, Killer Films
Sales: Le Bateau Lavoir
Synopsis: “In small-town America, Ernie, a 50-year-old recluse with a mysterious past, lives a quiet, secluded life. After a chance encounter with a group of twenty-something influencers passing through town, Ernie invites them to his home – a decision that shakes up the fragile world he has spent years trying to exist within. They move fast, live online, and turn everything into something to be seen. Finally, finding a place that suits him, Ernie is drawn into a “digital world” of hedonism, self-exploration, and belonging—but the connection he was seeking began to come at a cost. “As the line between private life and performance begins to blur, and the city becomes more woke, a carefully kept secret begins to emerge…a coming-of-age story about what we inherit, the patterns we carry, and the choices they leave us.”
mask
UK
drama
Director: Bertil Nilsson
Author: Bertil Nelson, Joshua Griffin
Producers: Bertil Nilsson, EP Joan Michael
Cast: Joshua Griffin, Teja Alexander, Ed White, Rhys King
Production: Doctija
Sales: Doctija
Synopsis: “Robin is a young man caught between multiple identities – autistic, biracial, queer – and different ideas of masculinity. This leads us on an intimate, and at times funny, journey of self-discovery and mistakes that is told in five chapters over the course of a crucial year in Robin’s life. He tries on different roles, failing from one job to the next as he changes his appearance and behaviors to suit them. But he will reveal what he most needs to hide. Finally open the door to belonging?
Our share of sand
UK
drama
Director/Writer: Shalini Adnani
Producers: Sarah Bonakdar, Alan McAlex, Balthazar De Janai, Giorgos Karnavas, Michael Graf
Cast: Elora Torchia, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Maya Mehta, Jyoti Dogra, Krish More, Ravi Ra Negan
Production: BFI, Film4, Fifth Mirror Pictures, Heretic, Appropriate Pictures
Sales: global constellation
Synopsis: “After years of separation, 12-year-old Maya returns to India with her mother to reunite with her father – a mining tycoon. Immersed in a world where work, legacy and extraction collide, she forms a fragile bond with Kiran, a young worker. When a tragic accident leaves him permanently injured, a police investigation turns Maya into a key witness, and her father relies on her account to clear his name. Torn between loyalty and growing anxiety, she cannot do it. By name, Maya begins searching Finding the truth for herself, as her mother quietly disintegrates within a stifling marriage, Maya discovers a pattern of silence, exploitation, and repeated abuse that forces her to confront her father’s deception and the inherited family complicity that she must choose to break.
SRising
UK
Psychological thriller
Director/Writer: Tom Nichol
Producers: Dom Riley, Tom Nichol, Scott Trotter
Cast: Liam Harkins, Stephen MacMillan, Kathleen McDermott, and Connor McCarron
Production: Creative Scotland, Lane Films
Sales: Lane Films
Synopsis: “A stubborn, ambitious teacher must go to extreme measures to pay off the debts he has accumulated from trying, and failing, to set up an online life coaching business in a post-industrial Scottish town. Exploring the world of male influencer culture and how it can influence the young men who enter its orbit. Salvation It mixes escalating tension, black comedy and a forensic focus on its protagonist to explore the very modern story of a fictitious life coach spiraling out of control.
