Peter Jackson says he’s not really a “Palmée kind of guy,” but the Cannes Film Festival made him one anyway as the beloved director received an honorary Palme d’Or on Tuesday night as the 2026 Cannes Film Festival officially kicked off inside the Palais’s Grand Lumiére Theater.
Jackson received the coveted award from Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins in Jackson’s hit film. Lord of the Rings series. Wood spoke of getting the call to action in Jackson’s films, recalling: “I sat on my bedroom floor and realized my life had been divided into before and after.”
“Peter has grown up […] “In a country that at the time had no film industry at all,” Wood continued, beaming at the audience. “But in true Pitt fashion, that wasn’t about to hold him back… When I was only 18, Lord of the Rings It was not just the beginning of Frodo’s journey, but the beginning of mine. So, Pete, you really did. There are no words to thank you for that.”
The New Zealand director comes to the market with his first ever feature film Bad taste in 1987. In 2001, he also showed a preview sequence from the film Lord of the Ringsthe first part of a trilogy that would go on to earn the Kiwi 17 Academy Awards.
After a standing ovation and a celebratory hug from Wood, Jackson spoke about manufacturing Bad taste on weekends over four years while working as a photo engraver in New Zealand. “If the film had not sold so well in the market here, I would have gone back to New Zealand to work at my job as a photo engraver. Fortunately, it sold really well. It launched my career.”
Then Jackson talked about fetch Lord of the Rings Footage of the festival when the franchise was under a great deal of scrutiny in the press because the film studio Warner Bros. It was for sale. “What goes around comes around,” Jackson joked to laughter from the audience, referring to the ongoing sale of Warner Bros. to Paramount Skydance owner David Ellison.
“We spent 20 minutes here in 2001 and did some press in a castle up in the hills,” Jackson recalls. “This gamble changed the concept of film. By the time[[Fellowship of the Ring]Released in December, there was anticipation that would not have occurred without Cannes.
After Jackson finished his speech, he received another standing ovation. The host of the event, Ain Haidara, asked the director to stay center stage for a special surprise. After a short clip from Jackson’s Beatles documentary appeared on the big screen, French-Congolese singer-rapper Theodora and French singer-songwriter Oklo walked into the lights to perform “Get Back,” a performance so electrifying that it had Jackson ducking his head, clapping his hands and singing along to the lyrics (as was judge Moore).
Jane Fonda and Gong Li then teamed up to officially declare the opening of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, an honor usually held by a solo presenter but this year by a duo. “Jane comes from the West,” Gong said. “And I come from the East. Tonight we stand here together. This is the magic of the Cannes Film Festival.”
She added: “Cinema transcends languages, cultures and generations. It speaks to what we all share – human feelings. Cinema allows us to meet and communicate. This is the power of films.”
Then Fonda took the spotlight and nodded to the fractured political and social landscape. “I believe in the power of votes,” she said. “Voices on screen, voices off screen, and certainly voices in the street – especially now. Cinema has always been an act of resistance because we tell stories and stories are what make civilization, stories that bring empathy to the marginalized, stories that allow us to feel differences.”
Fonda then put an exclamation point on that sentiment by saying: “Let us celebrate boldness, freedom, and the fierce act of creation.”
After a short break, the celebration continued with the world premiere of Pierre Salvadori’s film No electric venus To help kick off the prestigious film festival, which seems to have completely scared off Hollywood this year. Of course, Hollywood Reporter We delved into the social media piles, the sky-high costs and a series of high-profile mistakes that kept major studios away from a trip to the palace.
Salvadori and crew No electric venus Take special steps before the show. Set in 1920s Paris, the film follows the young painter Antoine Ballestro, played by Pio Marmay. He has not been able to paint since his wife’s death, much to the despair of the gallery owner, Armand. But one drunken evening, Antoine tries to contact his wife through a psychic and, unbeknownst to him, is actually talking to Suzanne, a lowly carnival worker. Soon, with Armand’s help, she was organizing one fake seance after another.
Outside the building, fans surrounded the red carpet, eager to catch a glimpse of Jackson, Salvadori and the star. No electric venus A star-studded cast and jury includes Park Chan-wook, Demi Moore, Chloe Chow, Stellan Skarsgård, Laura Wandell, Diego Cespedes, Isaac De Bancoli, and Paul Lafferty.
The inclusion of Hollywood names like Moore, Chow and Skarsgård is only supported by the likes of Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and James Gray’s Miles Teller. paper tigerRami Malek for the movie Ira Sachs The man I loveas well as Sebastian Stan and Renate Rainsvi Fjord. At least in the competition selection, anyway.
At the opening ceremony, President Park took to the stage to deliver his speech and acknowledged the number of creatives employed by the films shown at Cannes, saying, “There are only 22 films, but the number of people who worked on them is in the thousands. Taken into consideration [their] Families, may even reach ten thousand. “
He added of the jury: “I asked Paul if he had quarreled a lot with Ken Loach when they worked together. He said, ‘We quarreled a lot, but we didn’t fight.’ And our jurors will do the same.” He implored the audience to do the same – not to fight with each other, but to argue.
Other industry figures attending the opening ceremony included Palme winner Bong Joon Ho, Diego Luna, Louis Garrel, Joan Collins, Heidi Klum and reality TV star Maura Higgins.
More than 40,000 film professionals from 140 countries descended on the Côte d’Azur to see some of the brightest talents that world cinema has to offer. THRLeading film critic David Rooney talks about his 10 must-see films from the 2026 festival, such as the one starring Sandra Holler. Homeland And Asghar Farhadi Parallel storieshere.
The 79th Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 13 to 26.
