Cannes 26

In The Match, Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco revisit one of the greatest, and most controversial, games of football ever played, the 1986 World Cup quarter-final between Argentina and England. The match took place just a few years after the two countries went to war over the Malvinas (the Falklands) “We wanted to tell a balanced story about these two nations. It’s beyond football,” co-director Cabral tells BDE.

Before the May 17 Ji.hlava IDFF/J-Docs Hub reception at Cannes Marché, Yamagata IDFF’s Asako Fujioka sat down with BDE to discuss the new J-DocsHub initiative, whose goal is to create “a structured pathway for Japanese documentary makers to engage with the global market, develop internationally competitive projects, and build long-term partnerships with overseas producers, broadcasters, and distributors.” The Yamagata docfest is partnering with Cannes Docs this year, in line with Marché du Film’s choice of Japan as Country of Honour.

Chilean doccers are out in force at Cannes Docs 2026, where they will, for the first time, partner with Colombian counterparts during the May 18 Docs-in-Progress Chile & Colombia Showcase. Meanwhile, at the Marché, a diverse slate of Chilean doc product — including animated series, feature films, and emerging auteur voices — looks set to entice international buyers and investors. “Our documentary films generate high expectations in international markets,” says Paula Ossandón, Director of Chiledoc. “Proof of this are the sold-out presentations we have held at the Marché du Film and the awards received for five consecutive years at Cannes Docs.”

For the 7th year, CIRCLE Doc Accelerator has selected four alumni who will present their works-in-progress May 18 during Cannes Docs. The training programme for women and gender-expansive filmmakers has been a consistent source of films that go on to make their mark on the international festival circuit. “Each work in progress reflects the richness and diversity of our community — distinct voices, bold perspectives, and nuanced storytelling,” says CIRCLE programme director Biljana Tutorov who, together with Petar Glomazić, this year won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary for To Hold a Mountain.

Five Nordic documentaries at advanced stages of production were pitched May 16 to international decision-makers as part of  Cannes Docs’  Docs-in-Progress programme, with teams from Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Finland and Sweden seeking festivals, sales agents, distributors, gap financing and impact partners. The session was hosted by Elisabeth Aalmo of the Norwegian Film Institute. Business Doc Europe reports.

Mark Cousins continues his winning streak with parts 6 and 7 of his sixteen-hour long series, as he explores the global development of documentary film in the 1970s, with the rise of, among other things, environmentalism, gay rights, feminism and punk. “White western critics hardly noticed, but the message was clear. In the 1970s, cinema was everywhere. Documentary in particular,” Cousins points out.

The Vienna-based outfit has picked up the debut film for world sales following its world premiere at Hot Docs & European premiere at Visions Du Réel 2026. The film follows Eka, one of the last remaining 'bissu', the spiritual leaders of the Bugis, one of the largest ethnic groups in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. A bissu is a recognised as a separate gender that is believed to embody both masculine and feminine souls, and which once held a special place in society and religious beliefs.

During the European Film Promotion event, Dutch doc producer Olivia Sophie van Leeuwen will be presenting Willemiek Kluijfhout’s new doc project The Woman Who Made Van Gogh Famous, which tells the story of Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Vincent’s sister-in-law who changed art history by safeguarding his legacy after his death. “It's a brilliant story that needs to be told and it stands for so many more stories that are not in the history books,” says van Leeuwen. “Without her, nobody would know of Van Gogh.”

Christophe Dimitri Réveille’s partly-animated new feature doc tells the remarkable story of three of Che Guevara’s trusted followers who made a remarkable 2600-mile trek to safety after Che’s execution in Bolivia. Réveille, 48, has an intriguing background for a documentary maker. He’s an actor and acting coach. “What’s the connection between an acting coach in New York and the survivors of Che Guevara?” he muses to BDE. “It’s that they were hiding in the shadows of well-known people.”

In Gabin, director Maxence Voiseux follows his eponymous character, a precocious and sensitive boy from a rural background in northern France, over an entire decade of his life, from 8 to 18. On the one hand, the boy is fiercely proud of his roots and very loyal to his family’s way of life. On the other, he wants to “do something different” and this quickly puts him in conflict with his father. “For me, he [Gabin] is a strong cinema character because has to deal with these two sides of his life,” Voiseux tells BDE.