Cannes 2026: Jury announces the winners of the 29th La Cinef Selection
The 2026 Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the winners of the 29th edition of La Cinef, its prestigious section dedicated to showcasing the work of emerging student filmmakers from around the world.
This year’s selection brought together 19 student films chosen from an impressive pool of 2,747 submissions submitted by 662 film schools across the globe, reflecting the growing diversity and ambition of the next generation of cinema.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The awards were presented on May 21 at the Buñuel Theatre, followed by screenings of the winning entries.
The Short Films and La Cinef Jury was chaired by Carla Simón and included Ali Asgari, Salim Kechiouche, Ji-Min Park and Magnus von Horn.
Taking home the top honour, First Prize was awarded to "Laser-Gato"(Laser-Cat), directed by Lucas Acher from New York University in the United States.
Second Prize went to "Silent Voices", directed by Nadine Misong Jin from Columbia University.
The jury awarded Joint Third Prize to two productions: "Aldrig Nok" (Never Enough), directed by Julius Lagoutte Larsen from La Fémis in France, and "Growing Stones, Flying Papers", directed by Roozbeh Gezerseh and Soraya Shamsi from Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf in Germany.
Alongside international recognition at Cannes, the winning filmmakers received financial support from the festival. The First Prize winner received a grant of €15,000, while the Second Prize was accompanied by €11,000 and each Third Prize-winning project received €7,500.
The celebration of emerging cinema will continue beyond Cannes, as the awarded films are scheduled for a special screening at Cinéma du Panthéon in Paris on June 2.
La Cinef remains one of Cannes’ most significant platforms for discovering new filmmaking talent, often serving as an early launching pad for directors who later go on to shape contemporary world cinema.
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