The official selection of the Cannes Film Festival 2026, which runs this year from May 12 to 23, has been unveiled, and it features one of the Croisette's longtime favorites: Pedro Almodóvar. The Spanish filmmaker will be presenting his brand-new film, Autofiction.
The relationship between Almodóvar and the Cannes Film Festival goes back to 1999, when his film All About My Mother won the Best Director Award. Since then, the Spaniard has brought a large share of his feature films to Cannes: Bad Education in 2004 (the first Spanish film to open the festival), Volver in 2006 (which took home the Screenplay Award and the Best Actress Award for its stars), 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.
Synopsis : Raúl is a cult filmmaker in the grip of a creative block. When tragedy strikes one of his closest collaborators, he channels it into his next project. Gradually, he envisions Elsa, a director who is mid‑write, whose journey starts to echo his own. The two filmmakers become the two faces of the same figure, in a mirrored game where the blunt honesty of autofiction reveals as much as it destroys. But how far can you go to tell a story?
Autofiction
Film | 2026
Cinema release: May 20, 2026
Dramedy | Runtime: 1h51
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar | Starring Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón
Original title: Amarga Navidad
Country: Spain
