CANNES: One of the most notable American films in competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival was The Man I Love, directed by acclaimed independent filmmaker Ira Sachs. Screening in the festival’s prestigious Competition section, the film marked Sachs’ return to the race for the Palme d’Or seven years after Frankie premiered at Cannes in 2019. Set in New York during the late 1980s, the film combines elements of drama, romance and musical fantasy while exploring creativity, friendship and the determination to embrace life in difficult circumstances.

CANNES: One of the most highly anticipated films at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival was Fjord, the latest work from acclaimed Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu. The film premiered in the Official Competition.  Mungiu was awarded the Palme d’Or, in 2007 for his celebrated 2007 film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days making him a front runner for the award this year.

CANNES: Premiering in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2026, Fatherland is the latest feature from director Paweł Pawlikowski, marking his return to historical storytelling with a biographical drama centered on writer Thomas Mann. The film revisits a pivotal moment in Mann’s life: his postwar return to Europe after years of exile, using that journey as the framework for an intimate exploration of identity, cultural displacement, and family legacy.

CANNES: German filmmaker Valeska Grisebach returned to the Cannes Film Festival in 2026 with The Dreamed Adventure / Das geträumte Abenteuer, a film that marked her first appearance in the festival’s main competition cementing Grisebach’s reputation as one of Europe’s most distinctive contemporary directors.

CANNES: Premiering in the Out of Competition strand of the Cannes Film Festival 2026, Diamond marks a return to directing for actor and filmmaker Andy García. The film, a USA production with international financing, was presented on the Croisette as a stylized crime drama blending elements of mystery, character study, and art-world intrigue. Its screening drew attention both for García’s dual role as director and lead performer, and for its exploration of reinvention later in life.

VALLETTA: The Malta Film Commission released earlier this year a new study titled The Impact of the Film Industry in Malta: 8 Years of Growth, which contains some very impressive statistics: “Taken together since the launch of the cash rebate scheme, the industry has generated over 1.5 billion EUR in gross value added. Of this total contribution, 356m EUR was created prior to 2018, and more than 1.2 billion EUR in subsequent years, with the annual contribution in the post-2018 period being six times as much pronounced than in the preceding period.”

VALLETTA: The Malta Film Commission has announced the launch of a 2m EUR scholarship fund to develop and upgrade professional skills within the film industry. The Opportunity For All Scholarship Fund is being launched alongside the new Crew Standards Framework initiative intended to strengthen and develop the workforce across Malta’s film sector.

Another inspiring speech by Malta Film Commissioner Johann Grech at an event in the ancient medieval city of Mdina during the Mediterrane Film Festival. Malta is a small country with a film industry that dares to dream big. Johann Grech is truly an outstanding public speaker. It is rumoured he also wrote the speeches of some of the winning politicians in the recent Maltese elections. With yet another new and ostensibly lackluster UK Prime Minister about to take office at home one wonders why we do not seem to have anyone like the Malta Commissioner in the UK, surely being an outstanding public speaker should be a minimum requirement for the job of PM.

KARLOVY VARY: New films by Miroslav Terzić, Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, Tonia Mishiali, and Ivan Ostrochovský have been selected for the Crystal Globe Competition of the 60th anniversary edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF).

TBILISI: Georgia signed the Council of Europe Convention on the Co-Production of Audiovisual Works in the Form of Series, earlier this year in Lille, establishing a landmark legal framework to support independent TV and streaming producers.