The Festival de Cannes unveiled its 2026 Official Selection on April 9, 2026, placing three African films in Un Certain Regard for the 79th edition, which runs from May 12 to May 23, 2026. The three titles are "Ben'Imana," the first feature by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo; "Congo Boy" by Rafiki Fariala; and "La Más Dulce" by Laïla Marrakchi.
Ben'Imana
"Ben'Imana" is a Rwanda–Gabon–Côte d'Ivoire–France–Norway co-production. The film follows Veneranda, a survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, whose daughter's pregnancy forces her to confront her past. Before Cannes, the project appeared at Ouaga Film Lab in 2019, La Fabrique Cinéma in 2022, Durban FilmMart in 2024, and the Red Sea Souk Project Market in 2025. At the Red Sea Souk Awards 2025, it received the Red Sea Souk Post-Production Award, which included a $40,000 grant, and the Filmmore in-kind award valued at $32,500. Ad Vitam Distribution lists the film on its official site with a 2027 date.
Congo Boy
"Congo Boy" is a Central African Republic–Democratic Republic of the Congo–France co-production. The film follows Robert, a 17-year-old Congolese refugee in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, who cares for his four younger siblings while trying to become a musician after his parents are imprisoned. The project was selected for Atlas Ateliers in 2022. Publicly listed support includes €10,000 in development funding and €40,000 in production funding from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, as well as €50,000 from France's Fonds pour la jeune création francophone. The project was also recorded in Aide aux cinémas du monde results published on April 9, 2025.
La Más Dulce
"La Más Dulce" is a Morocco–France–Spain–Belgium co-production. The film follows Hasna, a Moroccan woman who travels to Huelva, in southern Spain, for seasonal strawberry-picking work and faces abuse, harassment, and degrading living conditions. The project appeared at Atlas Ateliers in 2021 and again in 2025. Publicly listed support includes an Atlas development prize of €5,000 in 2021, an Atlas Post-Production Award of €20,000 in 2025, and a €40,000 production grant from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, where the project appears under the title "Les fraises." Current official company records list Lucky Number for international sales, Diaphana Distribution in France, and sales to France with Bac Films and to Switzerland with Praesens Film.
The April 9, 2026 announcement covers the Official Selection. Still to come are the main parallel sections and related festival layers, including Directors' Fortnight, Critics' Week, and ACID.
