American Pavilion Presented by IndieWire Announces 2026 Cannes Film Festival Programming

With the start of the Cannes Film Festival this week, the biggest event on the annual film calendar has officially arrived. And one of the great Cannes traditions, The American Pavilion, is returning once again.

Since 1989, The American Pavilion has been the epicenter of American hospitality at the Cannes International Film Festival, bringing together professional and emerging filmmakers and industry executives from around the globe. And it is once again delivering a packed slate of programming presented by IndieWire featuring insights from filmmakers and industry leaders at the Roger Ebert Salon. All events are exclusively open to American Pavilion members.

Highlights include conversations with Jane Schoenbrun, Gillian Anderson, Hannah Einbinder, Ira Sachs, and many more. AmPav will once again host IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking Summit presented by United for Business, which will be headlined by a keynote conversation with Tim Heidecker.

California Film Commission, Gold House, Andreessen Horowitz, and Clever Caboose will also present panels at the festival.

Other notable events include IndieWire Show Me: An AI Filmmaking Series, California Day, the annual Emerging Filmmaker Showcase, the Member Cocktail Party, and the 21st anniversary of Queer Night.

“This year’s slate of programming reflects our commitment to championing the next generation of storytellers and industry innovators. As filmmaking continues to evolve across technology, platforms, and global audiences, we are proud to create a space where emerging voices can connect, collaborate, and shape the future of cinema together,” Lynne Howard, SVP of Future of Filmmaking/The American Pavilion, said in a statement announcing the lineup.

Anyone interested in attending the events can purchase American Pavilion membership here. Note that Cannes festival accreditation is required for access to the Pavilion.

The complete programming schedule, which runs from May 12-22, can be found below.

Tuesday, May 12

IndieWire: What No One Tells You: The Secrets of PR Pros

Most filmmakers know they need publicity. Few understand how it actually works — or how to make it work for them. Some of the industry’s leading film publicists pull back the curtain on the strategies, relationships, and timing that can make or break a film’s release, and what independent filmmakers should know before they ever hire a PR firm.

• RJ Millard, President, Obscured Pictures
• Hilda Somarriba, SVP, 42West
• Moderated by Sylvia Desrochers, EVP, 42West

Wednesday, May 13

IndieWire: In Conversation — “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma“

Writer-director Jane Schoenbrun joins stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson for a conversation with IndieWire Executive Editor Ryan Lattanzio ahead of the film’s U.S. theatrical release via MUBI on August 7. The opening film of Un Certain Regard, “Camp Miasma” follows a queer filmmaker hired to direct a new installment of a long-running slasher franchise who becomes obsessed with casting the reclusive actress who played the original final girl – with psychosexual and delirious results. 

Presented by Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Thursday, May 14

Presented by the California Film Commission with Marina del Rey Tourism Board, Film Santa Monica, Chula Vista Entertainment Company (CVEC), Film Liaisons in California Statewide (FLICS) and NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA)

The California Advantage: Locations, Hospitality & Production Resources California offers filmmakers more than world-famous scenery. This conversation highlights how tourism boards, film offices, and regional partners collaborate to provide seamless production support — from locations and lodging to catering, permitting, and community engagement  helping productions thrive statewide.

• Janet Zaldua, Marina del Rey Tourism Board
• Murielle Nouchy, Santa Monica Film Office 
• Jacqueline Ryan – CVEC (Chula Vista Entertainment Company)

This panel explores California’s expanded Film & Television Tax Credit Program 4.0 and the broader financing ecosystem available to filmmakers across the state. Industry leaders will discuss stackable incentives, rebates, grants, and financing strategies, alongside resources supporting independent producers and emerging storytellers working in California.

Learn how California’s enhanced incentive program is helping attract productions back to the state while creating new opportunities for independent filmmakers. Panelists will discuss tax credits, regional rebates, financing tools, grants, and the statewide support systems available to productions at every scale.

• Colleen Bell, Director, California Film Commission
• Larry Laboe, Executive Director, NFMLA (NewFilmakers LA)
• Manijeh Fata, Executive Director, Film SF and member of FLICS (Film Liaisons in California Statewide)

Director and co-writer Diego Luna and producer Valerie Delpierre in conversation with Anne Thompson, IndieWire Editor at Large

Diego Luna returns to Cannes as a director with “Ashes (Ceniza en la boca),” a drama selected for Special Screenings that follows a young woman’s struggle in Madrid. The film marks a homecoming of sorts — Luna first brought his debut feature Abel to the festival in 2010 and served on the Un Certain Regard jury in 2016 — and a deepening of his commitment to Latin American storytelling on a global stage. Luna joins his producer Valerie Delpierre for a conversation that will explore their creative collaboration, the mechanics and creative possibilities of Mexican-Spanish co-productions, and what it means to tell this particular story from this particular vantage point.

Built for Production: Why California Continues to Lead An intimate conversation exploring why California remains the global center of film and television production. From world-class crews and infrastructure to incentives, innovation, and creative talent, this fireside chat will examine the state’s evolving production landscape and its vision for the future.

• Guests to be announced

Friday, May 15

Breakfast & Meditation: Japanese Himalayan Master — Yogmata Blesses Cannes Film Festival Japanese Himalayan Master — Yogmata — shares the Himalayan secret teachings that transform you from charcoal to diamond.

The old rules for financing independent films are being rewritten. From IP-backed funding and audience-driven models to new structures for independent producers, a new generation of financiers and filmmakers is finding creative ways to get projects made outside the traditional studio system. Join this conversation for a practical, forward-looking look at where the money is coming from — and what it means for the films being made.

• Tanu-Matti Tuominen, IPR.VC, Co-Founder and Partner
• Mark Sourian, President of Production, 5&2 Studios
• Crystine Zhang, Oval 5, Owner, Producer, Financier
• Moderated by Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, SVP and Editor in Chief

The New Playbook for Independent Film: From Financing to Distribution in the Age of AI

“The New Playbook for Independent Film” brings together industry leaders to explore how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping financing, production, sales, marketing, and distribution. The panel will examine the opportunities, risks, and strategic shifts transforming the indie film landscape, while offering practical insights into how filmmakers, producers, financiers, and distributors can remain competitive in an increasingly data-driven and rapidly evolving global marketplace.

• Viviana Zarragoitia, Executive Vice President, TPC
• Torsten Ruether, Writer/Director/Producer, CEO, Hello Moment Productions
• Josh Spector, Vice President of Acquisitions & Production, Grindstone Entertainment
• Ryan Black, Entertainment Account Executive, Luma AI
• Moderated by Andrei Bulawka, Founder & CEO, Clever Caboose

Saturday, May 16

Comedian, actor, producer, and musician Tim Heidecker (“Tim & Eric Awesome Show,” “Bridesmaids,” “Moonbase 8”) joins IndieWire Editor in Chief Dana Harris-Bridson for an intimate keynote conversation — fresh off taking the helm as Creative Director of The Onion’s InfoWars, and just ahead of the Cannes premiere of his new film “Full Phil.”

Twin filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri join Toolkit host Chris O’Falt ahead of the Directors’ Fortnight premiere of “Clarissa” (NEON) — a bold reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” set in contemporary Nigeria, starring Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, Ayo Edebiri, and Nikki Amuka-Bird. The film follows their celebrated debut “Eyimofe,” which premiered at Berlin in 2020. The conversation will explore the brothers’ cinematic vision, their craft, and the vibrant Nigerian independent film scene.

How do you make a $500K horror film and land at A24? This focused case study unpacks the mechanics behind Undertone – from its sound-driven creative constraints and festival launch to its breakout acquisition. Daril Fannin of KINO and Chad Archibald of Black Fawn Films break down the decisions that made it work: the budget strategy, how the film was positioned for buyers, and what’s replicable for independent filmmakers navigating today’s market.

Moderated by Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, SVP & Editor in Chief

IndieWire Show Me: An AI Filmmaking Series — Asteria’s Paul Trillo

IndieWire’s Chris O’Falt launches a new series exploring artificial intelligence and the future of filmmaking with an in-depth conversation with Paul Trillo, filmmaker and strategic partner at AI studio Asteria. Trillo leads an artist-first approach to AI integration that pushes back against the notion that the technology is simply a production shortcut, arguing instead for AI as a tool that returns time, ambition, and humanity to the creative process. This inaugural conversation will explore what ethical, artist-driven AI filmmaking actually looks like in practice, and what it means for the future of independent film.

Sunday, May 17

Music, Film & the New Storytelling Stack — Co-Authoring What Comes Next

Presented by Andreessen Horowitz, Cultural Leadership Fund and Masters vs Machine, hosted by IndieWire at the American Pavilion.

Composer Roahn Hylton (Masters vs Machine, Eleven Labs) scores live as Diego Rodriguez, Co-Founder & CTO of Krea, builds the visuals beside him in real time. Judene Small, Partner at the Cultural Leadership Fund, then sits in fireside with Dave Clark, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer of Promise Studios, on the studio model and what it looks like to build at scale. A closing panel with SACEM and IndieWire’s Chris O’Falt takes up authorship, ownership, and the audience’s questions.

Andreessen Horowitz Cultural Leadership Fund convenes the channels — music, film, tools, audience, policy — that are co-authoring what comes next.

• Judene Small Jean-Louis, Andreessen Horowitz, Cultural Leadership Fund, Partner
• Roahn Hylton, Masters vs Machine / Eleven Labs, Producer/Composer/Futurist, CEO Masters vs Machine, Strategic Advisor & Creative Artist in Residence, Eleven Labs
• Diego Rodriguez, Krea, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Krea
• Dave Clark, Promise Studios, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Promise Studios
• Chris O’Falt, IndieWire, VP, Features Strategy
• SACEM

IndieWire: Filmmaker Toolkit Live: “Once Upon a Time in Harlem“

In 1972, pioneering filmmaker William Greaves convened the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance for an extraordinary gathering at Duke Ellington’s home — and captured it all on 16mm. Decades later, his son David completed the film, bringing it to Sundance (where it received universal critical acclaim) and now to Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. David Greaves joins Chris O’Falt to discuss finishing his father’s final work, the intimate footage at the film’s heart, and what it means to shepherd a piece of history across generations.

• Bao Nguyen, Filmmaker
• Jake Casey, The Dazey Phase, Producer, Co-Founder 
• Zach Glueck, Manifest Pictures, Co-Founder
• Moderator: Christine Yi, Gold House Studios, General Manager

Theatrical windows, streaming gatekeepers, algorithmic feeds — the traditional path to audiences is getting harder to navigate, and more filmmakers are charting their own course. This conversation brings together innovators reshaping how independent films find their audiences, from community screening platforms and arthouse networks to direct acquisition models. A practical, forward-looking conversation for any filmmaker thinking seriously about distribution strategy.

• Konstantinos Gozos, Gathr 
• Darcy Heusel, Outside, Founder
• Leo Matchett, Decentralized Pictures, Co-Founder & CEO
• Lela Meadow-Connor, Art House Convergence, Interim Executive Director 
• Yira Vilaro,  Pijama, Director of Acquisitions
• Moderated by: Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, SVP & Editor in Chief

Monday, May 18

Director Ira Sachs and co-writer Mauricio Zacharias join Chris O’Falt ahead of the Main Competition premiere of “The Man I Love” — a musical fantasy set in late-’80s New York, following an actor facing death who takes on what may be his greatest role. Starring Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge, Rebecca Hall, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, the film marks a bold new direction for Sachs, whose intimate character studies (“Passages,” “Little Men,” “Keep the Lights On”) have made him one of American independent cinema’s most distinctive voices. The conversation will explore the film’s making, its rich creative partnership, and what it means to tell a story about art as survival.

Sundance. Telluride. New York. Berlin. Four of the world’s most influential film festivals, one conversation. As distribution pipelines narrow and the theatrical landscape shifts, festivals have become more critical than ever — not just as launching pads, but as lifelines for independent cinema. The leaders shaping these institutions come together to discuss what festivals owe filmmakers, how they’re evolving to meet the moment, and what the future holds.

• Daniel Battsek, Film at Lincoln Center, President (New York Film Festival)
• Eugene Hernandez, Sundance Film Festival, Director
• Julie Huntsinger, Telluride Film Festival, Executive Director
• Tricia Tuttle, Berlin International Film Festival, Director
• Moderated by Anne Thompson, IndieWire, Editor at Large

The best, the biggest, the only LGBTQ+ dance party at the festival!

Free to all Festival and Marche’ badge holders

Tuesday, May 19

IndieWire: What No One Tells You: Short Films and the Path to Success

The short film space is having a moment, but the business infrastructure still lags far behind features, and so do most panel conversations. This one aims to change that. From funding and festival strategy to sales and distribution, this conversation gets into the practical realities that short filmmakers actually face, with people who are actively shaping the ecosystem and have specific, informed things to say about where it stands and where it’s headed.

• Natalie Musteata & Alexandre Singh, Two People Exchanging Saliva, Directors and Writers,
• Grégoire Féron, Salaud Morisset, Festivals
• Emilie Boulay, Salaud Morisset, Sales
• Taylor K. Shaw / Kickstarter / Film Lead 
• Moderated by Chris O’Falt, VP, Features Strategy, IndieWire 

Wednesday, May 20

IndieWire’s Screen Talk Podcast — Live at Cannes

Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio bring their popular podcast to the Pavilion for a live taping — an unfiltered conversation about the films generating buzz on the Croisette, the awards season taking shape, and the bigger forces reshaping cinema. Special guest TBA.