ACID, the Cannes Film Festival sidebar run by France’s association of film directors whose goal is promoting the theatrical distribution of independent films, unveiled its 2026 lineup on Tuesday, with general delegate Pauline Ginot promising a selection of nine “adventurous” and “bold” films from emerging voices from such countries as Iran, Switzerland and, of course, France.
Launched in 1992, ACID has made a reputation for itself for discovering up-and-coming directing talents. Among others, it brought to Cannes the first features of such auteurs as Anatomy of a Fall director Justine Triet, who premiered Age of Panic there, Radu Jude, who unveiled The Happiest Girl in the World in the program in 2009, and Kaouther Ben Hania (The Voice of Hind Rajab), who screened her feature debut, The Blade of Tunis, at ACID in 2014. ACID has previously also championed early works by the likes of Guy Maddin, including My Winnipeg.
More than 600 films were submitted this year for one of the coveted nine spots in the ACID program, Ginot tells THR. “We watched all of them and are now sending letters to everybody,” she highlights. “And we try to do so with some quotes and thoughts from the committee, so people know that their movies were really watched by other filmmakers. We are a filmmakers’ association and union, and filmmakers are used to being rejected and waiting for an answer, so we get a lot of feedback from people feeling that it is amazing that their movie was watched” and they received feedback.
As every year, there were not enough spots for all the exciting films. “We had to leave a lot of really good films [out], but I’m pretty much sure they will find a place,” Ginot says.
“We love to be adventurous,” she tells THR. “ACID is a collective of filmmakers who support independent film and who want to go bold. We have films that sometimes are not perfect, but you can tell that there is a filmmaker who has a future, and the ecosystem will be happy to see the other films from these people. And without us, they may not have a future. There is no second or third movie, if there is no first one, even if that first one is not a perfect one. We’re just here to help filmmakers and bring them international exposure.”
Two films in this year’s ACID lineup are from Iran-born filmmakers, two are documentaries, and the topics and themes explored are various.
This year’s programming committee consists of the following 13 filmmakers: Valérie Bert, Anne Colson, Sylvain George, Martin Jauvat, Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Julien Meunier, Hélène Milano, Marion Naccache, Thomas Paulot, Philippe Petit, Déni Pitsaev, Paola Termine and Pamela Varela.
Check out the full ACID 2026 lineup below, with some insight and thoughts from Ginot.
A Secret Heart (Cœur Secret) by Tom Fontenille (85 Min – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “Over the last four years, Lilou left her secret life behind, becoming a 64-year-old woman who enjoys DIY, gardening, cycling and looking after her grandchildren. As I accompanied her through her transformation, I filmed a family healing its wounds and reinventing a place for everyone. This is my family, Lilou is my father.”
Says Ginot: “This is a doc about a trans woman. But that never becomes a plot device or narrative driver, yet she leaves a lasting impression, especially about the trauma of it.”
Blaise by Dimitri Planchon & Jean-Paul Guigue (82 Min – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “The Sauvage family just wants to be loved. Carole is trying to improve her poor reputation among her employees, while Jacques is trying to do the same with his friends. As for their son Blaise, politely, he’s about to embark on a revolutionary, violent, and completely impromptu crusade for a girl.”
This animated film is based on a comic that has already received the series treatment.
Says Ginot: “The movie has a stellar voice cast [including Léa Drucker] and really sharp dialogue that is mocking the bourgeoisie and more. Everyone gets a piece of the action, all while the film raises many contemporary themes, including consent, class struggles, body variance, violence and everything, but overall, the need to connect and to be validated.”
Born Under a Bad Star (Mauvaise ÉToile) by Lola Cambourieu & Yann Berlier (125 Min – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “Scorching heat in a suburban neighborhood in the South of France. It’s the end-of-year party at the local sports club. Birds are falling from their nests, wildfires are raging, and Kiki remains under the spell of her Bad Star.”
Dans La Gueule De L’ogre by Mahsa Karampour (86 Min – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “I can’t quite grasp the adventurous life of my brother Siavash, so far from my own. While I have just become French and he is about to become American, far from our native Iran, we are searching for common ground.”
Says Ginot: “It is about the hardship of exile, a portrait of the survival of a relationship, and, of course, you cannot not think about what’s happening in Iran right now, which is where the film ends.”
Detention (La Détention) by Guillaume Massart (132 Min – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “Open a door. Handle a crisis. Write an incident report. At France’s prison officer academy, hundreds of men and women learn to become prison guards. Their words begin to mirror the institution. Their movements sharpen. What once felt uncertain becomes routine. Doubt slowly fades from their faces.”
Says Ginot: “The director’s first feature was La Liberté (In the Open), about a prison in France, and here he continues his work to address the French prison system indirectly. He spent a year following the training of prison staff. You won’t set foot in prison during the film, but you will feel that you have learned a lot about the French prison system.”
Living Twice, Dying Thrice by Karim Lakzadeh (103 Min – Iran – 2026)
Synopsis: “Three miners who survived the collapse of a mine decide to hide their deaths so that their families can claim compensation. Their clandestine life gradually leads to new crises: family tensions, a desire to start anew, and a search for identity that brings them all the way to Tehran. Meanwhile, Iranian authorities await proof of death…”
Says Ginot: “Following an explosion, you have three men who decide to pretend to be dead so that their family can collect insurance money. It’s really an adventure movie that traverses all of Iran’s social strata. The film is also a declaration of love to the cinemas of ’70s.”
Promised Spaces by Ivan Marković (76 Min – France, Germany, Serbia, Cambodia – 2026)
Synopsis: “Sleepless from the heat, Sokun leaves his crowded construction dormitory and joins a community of fellow workers living in one of many unfinished high-rises. One such tower offers a long-awaited luxury home for its first tenant, Seda, who soon feels trapped in the vast gated complex.”
Says Ginot: “This one uses documentary style, but it’s actually fiction. The film explores the construction of a modern residential complex in a Cambodia undergoing really fast change. It show us how urban landscapes are also political landscapes where class relations come in concrete form. And the film is really driven by an extremely precise composition of shots.”
Rewind Barcelona (Barça Zou) by Paul Nouhet (85 Min – France – 2026)
Synopsis: “In their eighteenth summer, Emile, Paul, Hascoet and Leo head to Barcelona, the mecca of skateboarding, for their first vacation together. Ten years later, they catch up and recall those days.”
Says Ginot: “The film is about how memories are shaped by a multitude of small, insignificant moments. And it is about being suspended in limbo, leaving childhood behind, but not yet entering adulthood, where everything and nothing matters, and where the mundane moments can become defining ones.”
Summer Drift (Virages) by Céline Carridroit & Aline Suter (89 Min – Switzerland, France – 2026)
Synopsis: “It’s summer in Geneva. Johanna works on the assembly line of a luxury watch factory and she’s not going on vacation. As she considers getting rid of her old VW Beetle, she decides instead to bring it back to life and confront the world of mechanics that once rejected her.”
Says Ginot: “Johanna is a really colorful, memorable character. She’s more Mad Max character than [anything else]. The film is set in Geneva, but in the Geneva underground scene that we never see in cinema.”
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