Cannes Investors Circle returns with eight projects, private investor pitch at Marché du Film

By Pickle April 13, 2026

Cannes’ Investors Circle is back for a fourth edition this May, bringing a curated slate of eight feature projects by internationally acclaimed directors to the 2026 Marché du Film. The invitation-only initiative, which connects private investors with high-end films at an early stage, will unfold on May 16 and 17 at Plage des Palmes, with a public-facing financing panel followed by closed-door pitching and matchmaking sessions for VIP investors.

This year’s lineup spans Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, but leans especially toward European talent. The projects come from filmmakers with proven festival pedigrees, including Juho Kuosmanen, Atsuko Hirayanagi, Magnus von Horn, Felipe Gálvez, Carine Tardieu, Emanuel Pârvu, Ismaël El Iraki and Noé Debré, whose names already carry significant cachet on the international circuit. The projects are said to range from €1 million to more than €12 million in budgets, underlining the diversity of scale and ambition in the selection.

For the Marché du Film, the Investors Circle has become a strategic bridge between premium film development and private capital. The program is designed to identify projects that are far enough along creatively to spark investor confidence, while still early enough to benefit from flexible financing structures. This year’s edition also signals a continued emphasis on elevated genre titles, alongside prestige drama and auteur-driven work.

“Following last year’s edition, the Investors Circle has already led to concrete investment outcomes, with projects such as Gentle Monster by Marie Kreutzer and Poeta Chileno by Sebastián Lelio securing investors through the program,” said Guillaume Esmiol, Executive Director of the Marché du Film. He added that the initiative is being refined further this year and will expand beyond Cannes through year-round activities, including a recent workshop in Trieste during When East Meets West.

Alexandra Zakharchenko, head of the Investors Circle program, said the 2026 selection was built to balance creative strength with market readiness. “This year’s selection reflects a deliberate effort to bring together projects at different stages of development and financing, spanning a wide range of budgets, genres and narrative approaches,” she said. “Particular attention has been given to projects that are ready to engage with private investment, combining clear market potential with strong creative positioning, including a growing presence of elevated genre-driven works.”

The selection process was overseen by Zakharchenko alongside an annually renewed committee made up this year of Céline Dornier of IPR.VC, Jean des Forêts of Petit Film, Alice Laffillé of FilmNation Entertainment and Anthony Muir of Film i Väst. Their involvement reflects the program’s mix of financing expertise, sales experience and co-production knowledge.

Among the selected directors, Kuosmanen arrives with an especially strong Cannes pedigree after Compartment No. 6 won the Grand Prix in Competition in 2021. Hirayanagi’s Oh Lucy! made its mark at Cannes’ Semaine de la Critique, while von Horn’s The Girl with the Needle competed in Cannes in 2024 after a strong run on the awards circuit. Gálvez, meanwhile, made a notable Cannes breakout with The Settlers, which premiered in Un Certain Regard and won the FIPRESCI Prize.

Pârvu’s Three Kilometres to the End of the World was also in Cannes Competition in 2024 and won the Queer Palm, while Tardieu’s The Ties That Bind Us won major honors in Venice. El Iraki’s Zanka Contact debuted in Venice’s Orizzonti section, and Debré is best known internationally as the screenwriter of Dheepan, the Palme d’Or winner at Cannes in 2015.

The event opens on Saturday, May 16, with industry keynotes focused on film financing trends, accessible to Festival and Marché badge holders. That public-facing conference will be followed by a private pitching session and curated one-on-one investor meetings on Sunday, May 17, reserved strictly for invited VIP investors.

For Cannes delegates tracking where the industry’s financing conversation is headed, the Investors Circle points to a growing appetite for packaged, festival-ready projects that combine authorial prestige with market logic. In a crowded festival economy, that mix may be as valuable as any red-carpet premiere.

2026 SELECTED DIRECTORS

Noé Debré (France) – Screenwriter of Dheepan, Palme d’Or winner at the Festival de Cannes,
and collaborator of filmmakers, including Jacques Audiard and Romain Gavras. He made his
directorial debut in 2024 with A Nice Jewish Boy.
Ismaël El Iraki (Morocco/France) – La Fémis alumnus, where his short films screened at
Cannes and Clermont-Ferrand. His debut feature Zanka Contact premiered in Orizzonti at the
Venice Film Festival, where its actress Khansa Batma won Best Actress. The film has since
toured major international festivals.
Felipe Gálvez (Chile) – Chilean filmmaker, writer and editor based in Paris. His debut feature
The Settlers (Los Colonos) premiered in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, where
it received the FIPRESCI Prize. His short film Rapaz was also selected at Semane de la Critique
in Cannes.
Atsuko Hirayanagi (Japan/USA) – Award-winning screenwriter and director based in San
Francisco. Her short film Oh Lucy! screened at major festivals including Cannes and Sundance,
winning over 35 awards. Her debut feature of the same name premiered at Semaine de la
Critique in Cannes.
Juho Kuosmanen (Finland) – Helsinki-based filmmaker whose works have all been awarded
at the Festival de Cannes, including The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Un Certain
Regard) and Compartment No. 6, which won the Grand Prix in Competition at Cannes.
Emanuel Pârvu (Romania) – Director, screenwriter and actor. His debut feature Meda earned
Best Director at Sarajevo, followed by Mikado (San Sebastián). His latest film Three Kilometres
to the End of the World premiered in Competition at Cannes, where it won the Queer Palm.
Carine Tardieu (France) – French director and screenwriter known for her nuanced portrayals
of intimacy and contemporary family structures. Her films include Ôtez-moi d’un doute
(Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes 2017) and The Ties That Bind Us (L’Attachement) (Venice 2024),
which won the César for Best Film and Best Adaptation.
Magnus von Horn (Sweden/Poland) – Graduate of the Łódź Film School, his debut The Here
After premiered at Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes and won multiple awards. Sweat (2020)
screened in the Festival de Cannes’ Official Selection, and The Girl with the Needle (2024) also
premiered in Competition, earning major international recognition, including Golden Globe and
Academy Award nominations.