Autofiction, the new film from Pedro Almodóvar, opens in cinemas on May 20, 2026, amid the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival 2026. The Spanish director presents this feature in competition, with Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón among the cast.
Autofiction
Film | 2026
In cinemas: May 20, 2026
Comedy-drama | Running time: 1h51
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar | Screenplay: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón
Original title: Amarga Navidad
Country: Spain
The story between Almodóvar and the Cannes Film Festival goes back to 1999, when All About My Mother won the Best Director Award. Since then, the director has returned to Cannes with several of his feature films, including Bad Education in 2004, Volver in 2006, Broken Embraces in 2009, The Skin I Live In in 2011, Julieta in 2016, Pain and Glory in 2019, then Strange Way of Life in 2023.
In Autofiction, Raúl, a cult filmmaker in the throes of a creative crisis, is struck by a tragedy that hits one of his closest collaborators. He uses it as the seed for his next film. Little by little, he imagines Elsa, a director herself deep in the writing process, whose journey begins to mirror his own.
The film unfolds a mirror game between two filmmakers, presented as two facets of the same character. Through this narrative, Autofiction probes the boundary between creation, private life, and personal storytelling, with a central question: how far can one go to tell a story?
The official trailer offers viewers the first glimpse of the film, which will hit theaters the same day as its Cannes premiere.
To extend your in-theatre experience, check out the films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2026, the films to watch right now, and our picks of the dramatic comedies to discover on the big screen.
