By Shaibu Husseini

More Guests Announced For Cannes 2026 Classics
Bruce and Laura Dern, Guillermo del Toro, Artavazd Pelechian, Dario Argento, Jerzy Skolimowski, and two contemporary films (including one exploring Michèle Firk’s life) will be among the guests of Cannes Classics. The Festival de Cannes created Cannes Classics, nearly 20 years ago, a section dedicated to showcasing the preservation work carried out by production companies, rights holders, film archives, cinematheques, and national archives around the world. Now an essential part of the Official Selection, Cannes Classics presents restored prints of classic films as well as documentaries related to their history. Restoration work is thriving across all continents; one is struck by the rediscovered vitality in the present-day shadows, blacks and whites, and colors of what once was early cinema. The 2026 Cannes Classics selection is once again composed of celebrations, restored prints, and documentaries. It will present 22 feature films, three short films, and six documentaries. It will also include two contemporary works. Cannes Classics will also feature in its selection two recent films: a fiction, with Bérenger Thouin’s The Golden Age and a documentary, with Jean-Gabriel Périot’s A Life, A Manifesto. The 79th Cannes Film Festival is holding from May 12 to May 23, 2026.

Durban Filmmart To Hold In October, Not July
ORGANISERS of the Durban FilmMart (DFM), one of Africa’s biggest film finance and co-production market, have announced that the 17th edition of the filmmart will hold from October 9 to 12, 2026 owing to significant funding challenges. Organisers say the viability of hosting the DFM event in July 2026 has been considerably impacted by the current global financial crisis, which directly affects funding for film and the arts in general. Significant changes in key funding partnerships and the ongoing reduction of local year-on-year funding opportunities presents challenges for planning and strategic growth.  The Durban FilmMart Institute, a non-profit organisation, plays a pivotal and significant role in driving African and diaspora film professionals to convene, do business, build relationships, exchange ideas and shape the future of filmmaking. 

“Rescheduling the market has been a difficult decision but one that the board and management had to take because we remain committed to the pan-African film ecosystem we serve,” says Magdalene Reddy, Director of the Durban FilmMart Institute. “Despite the uncertainty we face with limited long term, multi-year support for the annual event, we believe that the space we create for African film professionals must exist and that it is essential to those who believe in the power and impact of African independent film. We encourage all those who never miss a DFM to move with us and join us in October for what they have come to cherish.” Those attending this edition are set for a series of uncompromising conversations under the theme: Shifting Worlds: Turning Towards Ourselves.

Inspired by the words of Ousmane Sembène, often referred to as the ‘father of African cinema’, who said, “why be a sunflower and turn toward the sun? I, myself, am the sun,” the 17th edition of the Durban FilmMart will be the space for discussions that advance alternative film funding pathways, revise models for distribution, consider equitable co-production frameworks and create authentic partnerships. An anchor in the international co-production market calendar and with a continued focus on African cinema, all DFM market activities including the Pitch and Finance Forum for live action, documentary and animation, Talents Durban and the Industry Programme made up of panel discussions, masterclasses and think thanks go ahead as planned. The 17th edition Durban FilmMart is funded by the Durban Film Office, eThekwini Municipality, Ford Foundation and the National Film and Video Foundation. More information on this year’s theme can be found on the Durban FilmMart Institute’s website, https://durbanfilmmart.co.za/

Hot Docs Announce Festival Winning Documentaries
HOT Docs have officially announced the winning documentaries from this year’s official competition.  A total of 12 awards, along with over $67,000 in cash and prizes, was celebrated at the Hot Docs 2026 Awards presentation held on Saturday at El Mocambo in Toronto. Hot Docs Best Canadian Short Documentary was presented to My Body Goes to Work (D: Fernanda Molina | P: Daria Lavrova, Fernanda Molina | Canada | 2025 | 12 min). A birth worker by day and a dancer in a strip club by night, Nevaeh navigates two very different worlds, in both of which bodies are judged and celebrated. As she reclaims the beauty and agency of her body while defying societal labels and expectations, she generously invites us to rethink our assumptions about sex, labour and healing. The Award includes a $3,000 cash prize. The Hot Docs Best International Short Documentary, sponsored by TVO Docs, was presented to Replikka (D: Piratá Waurá, Heloisa Passos | P: Mark Slagle, Heloisa Passos, Yula Rocha | Brazil, USA, UK | 2025 | 16 min). In Replikka, technology and Indigenous wisdom merge, creating a contemplative journey and meditation on memory, identity, loss and rebirth. The winner received a $3,000 cash prize, courtesy of TVO Docs. Hot Docs is an Academy Awards qualifying festival for short documentaries and, as winners of the 2026 Hot Docs Best International Short Documentary and the Hot Docs Best Canadian Short Documentary, respectively, Replikka and My Body Goes to Work will qualify for consideration in the Documentary Short Subject category of the yearly academy awards without the standard theatrical run, provided they comply with academy rules.