GREAT8 Showcase at Cannes 2026

Now in its ninth year, the 2026 GREAT 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council, with thanks to BBC Film and Film4. In preparation for the Marché, unseen footage from all of the titles will be introduced by their filmmakers and screened online exclusively to buyers and festival programmers from midday Friday 8 May and throughout the festival across five different time zones. All of the features will be available to buyers during the Cannes Marché (13-24 May).

Find out more about the films and filmmakers in this year’s GREAT 8 below. 

• ANCESTORS, director/writer David Turpin
• BLACK CHURCH BAY, director/writer Rhys Marc Jones
• DAUGHTER OF EDEN, director/writer Fateme Ahmadi
• FLORID, director/writer Billy Lumby
• IN STARLAND, director Ray Panthaki, writers Ray Panthaki, Jason Kavan
• MASC, director Bertil Nilsson, writers Bertil Nilsson, Joshua Griffin
• OUR SHARE OF SAND, director/writer Shalini Adnani
• SALVATION director/writer Tom Nicoll

Since its first edition in 2017, GREAT 8 selections have sold widely internationally, being acquired by major studios, global streaming platforms, and independent distributors who each play a vital role in bringing cinema to national audiences.

GREAT 8-selected films and filmmakers who have gone on to find international critical acclaim and commercial success from last year’s selection include Imran Perretta's Ish which world premiered in Venice Critics' Week, winning the Audience Award, was nominated for the First Feature Competition at the BFI London Film Festival and the film’s producer won a British Independent Film Award for breakthrough producer; and Ashley Walters Animol which world premiered at the Perspectives section of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Film.

Previous GREAT 8 films include Charlotte Wells’s Aftersun (BAFTA Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, 2023) which became MUBI’s highest earning release in the UK. Retreat, written and directed by Ted Evans, the first UK feature film by a deaf director, with an all-deaf cast and made using British Sign Language. Rungano Nyoni’s I Am Not A Witch (Camera d’Or nominee, 2017) followed its Cannes world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight with being selected by other leading international film festivals. Rose Glass’s Saint Maud (BIFA Douglas Hickox Award, 2021 and BFI London Film Festival, Best Film-Honourable Mention) was acquired by A24 for the US and launched Glass’s career internationally. Tinge Krishnan’s Been So Long (GREAT 8 2017) was bought worldwide by Netflix in what was named the biggest single acquisition of a UK film by a streaming platform at that point. Other successes include Michael Pearce’s Beast (BAFTA Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, 2019), Georgia Oakley’s Blue Jean (Venice Giornate degli Autori People’s Choice Award, 2022) and Charlotte Regan’s Scrapper (Sundance, Grand Jury Prize, World Cinema - Dramatic, 2023).

GREAT 8 gives international buyers and festival programmers an opportunity to have an early look at the consistently high-quality new UK films and co-productions alongside the introductions given by their filmmakers. International buyers invited to access the showcase include A24, Bleecker Street, SPC, Apple, IFC, Neon, 30 West (US); Charades, Diaphana, Haut et Court, LE PACTE, The Jokers (France); Ascot Elite, Atlas Film Koch Films, Meteror Film, Square One, Tobis (Germany); Alliance Media & entertainment; Edco Films, Intercontinental (Hong Kong); Impact Films, Pictureworks, VR Films (India); Adler, BIM, Eagle, Lucky Red (Italy); Shochiku (Japan); Aud, Challan, Green Narare (Korea), UPIE, Transmission Films, Madman Entertainment (ANZ); Cherry Pickers (Netherlands); Nordisk, Scanbox, Sandrew Metronome (Scandinavia); DeA Planeta Filmin (Spain); and MUBI.

The GREAT 8 line-up for 2026:

ANCESTORS
Ireland, UK  

Director/writer: David Turpin
Producers:  Miranda Ballesteros, David Collins, Eamon Hughes
Cast:  Éanna Hardwicke, Jessica Reynolds, Jack Wolfe, Rupert Everett, Christina Hendricks
Production: Screen Ireland, Yellow Moon, Northern Ireland Screen, Samson Films, Lunatica
Sales: Mister Smith

Synopsis – A love story, a noir mystery and a metaphysical fable, Ancestors follows Beau (Éanna Hardwicke) as he searches 1980s London for his missing friend, Tiny (Jack Wolfe). Dream, reality, memory and history entwine, forcing Beau to come face-to-face with truths beyond life and death.

David Turpin is an Irish-born filmmaker who began his career as a musician and performance artist. His first work for cinema was the screenplay for the supernatural mystery The Lodgers, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in 2017, and was subsequently acquired by Nexflix in a worldwide five-year deal. His second feature as screenwriter, the contemporary drama The Winter Lake, premiered in 2021. David’s work has been supported by Screen Ireland and Creative Europe MEDIA fund, and he currently has material in development with Screen Ireland, BBC Northern Ireland, Film4, Tailored Films, Keeper Pictures and others. All David’s work is characterised by his interest in symbolism, lyricism, and how the interweaving of real and imagined planes of being can express the experiences of the othered. Ancestors is David's first feature as writer-director.

BLACK CHURCH BAY
UK 

Director/writer: Rhys Marc Jones
Producers: Tristan Goligher, Alex Polunin
Cast: Tom Cullen, Joe Locke, Marli Siu, Rakie Ayola, Dylan Michael
Production: BBC Film, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Screen Scotland, Ossian International, The Bureau
Sales: The Bureau

Synopsis – Black Church Bay is a mystery-drama about a conflicted young teacher (Tom Cullen) dealing with the consequences of a high school student (Joe Locke) disappearing. It follows the immediate aftermath of the event, exploring the lengths a person might go to hide their true self - to save their skin at the expense of their soul.

Rhys Marc Jones is a Welsh-Irish filmmaker who studied at NYU Tisch as a three-time BAFTA Scholarship recipient. His screenplay for Black Church Bay won the Black Family Feature Prize, the highest accolade bestowed by the faculty at NYU - and his shorts, including Ripples, Father Of The Bride and Pale Saint have played festivals worldwide, receiving three BAFTA Cymru nominations. An alumni of Cannes Cinéfondation and Torino Film Lab, Rhys also received BFI Flare x BAFTA Mentorship from Wash Westmoreland and is a Berlinale Talent.

DAUGHTER OF EDEN
UK, Ireland

Director/writer: Rebekah Fortune
Producers: Jack Tarling, Pietro Greppi
Cast: Yasmin Al-Khudhairi, Hiam Abbass, Amir El-Masry, Lindsay Duncan
Production: BFI, BBC Film, Fís Éireann/ Screen Ireland, Civic Studios, Three Point Capital, Lunapark Pictures, Shudder Films, Newgrange Pictures
Sales: Lucky Number 

Synopsis – London, 2006. In the months leading up to Saddam Hussein’s execution, Nessa, a British Iraqi nurse, encounters an older woman, Maryam, at the hospital and suspects that she is the government informant responsible for her parents’ execution in Iraq years earlier. Nessa infiltrates Maryam’s life as her nurse, aiming to find the truth. To her surprise, Maryam begins to develop a closer bond with her - but Nessa cannot let go of the obsession. Nessa’s search for truth turns into something darker when she finally feels certain that she has the right person; consumed by rage, she begins to punish Maryam, while neglecting her own health, family and career. As the lines between truth and projection blur, Nessa is forced to confront the consequences of what her pain has set in motion.

Fateme Ahmadi is an Iranian writer and director based in London. Her short films have screened internationally and won numerous awards including Bitter Sea, nominated for Best British Short at the British Independent Film Awards, and Leila’s Blues, which premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight as part of the Tunisia Factory initiative. She is a fellow of the inaugural Pillars Artist Fellowship supported by Netflix and Amazon Studios, and an alumna of Berlinale Talents, Edinburgh Talent Lab, and Film London Lodestar. Her work also includes Chandra, developed at the 2015 Asian Film Academy Colour of Asia programme at Busan International Film Festival. She studied Persian Literature, Cinema, and Linguistics in Tehran before graduating from the London Film School in 2013. Her debut feature Daughter Of Eden is a psychological thriller in postproduction backed by the BFI, BBC Film and Screen Ireland.

FLORID
UK 

Director/writer: Billy Lumby
Producers: Rupert Lloyd, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
Cast: Jonathan Jules, Saskia Chana, Unknown T/
Production: ATAR Studios, BBC Film, Film i Väst, Filmgate Films, Head Gear Films, Joi Productions, Trigger Films, Academy Films 
Sales: Atar Studios

Synopsis – Set in the world of London’s supported accommodation and psychiatric wards, FLORID tells the story of Jamal, a young man who hears voices. Struggling to balance his medication with his musical and romantic desires, Jamal’s equilibrium is rocked when Kyla moves in next door. Told from an authentic first-person experience, FLORID has been made with the community it is based in. It is an emotive and immersive story that seeks to bring the audience into an unseen world.

Billy Lumby is a BAFTA-nominated writer/director. Born and raised in London, his first short film God View was screened at top festivals around the world including Clermont-Ferrand, and was broadcast internationally by television networks such as Canal+. His second short Samuel-613 was commissioned by Dazed & Confused magazine and was nominated for a BAFTA. Billy has attended talent labs at Berlinale and the BFI London Film Festival. He is a Screen International “Star of Tomorrow”.

IN STARLAND
UK 

Director: Ray Panthaki
Writers: Ray Panthaki, Jason Kavan
Producers: Daniel Khalili, Ray Panthaki, Daisy Allsop, Victor Paul Wajnberg
Cast: Clarence Maclin, Bella Maclean, Miss Benny, Marcus Scribner, Ben Dickey
Production: Le Bateau Lavoir, Archface Films, Killer Films
Sales: Le Bateau Lavoir

Synopsis –  In small-town America, Ernie - a 50-year-old loner with a mysterious past - lives a quiet, solitary life. After a chance encounter with a group of influencers in their twenties who are passing through town, Ernie invites them into his home - a decision that unsettles the fragile world he’s spent years trying to exist within. They move fast, live online, turning everything into something to be seen. Finally finding a place he can fit in, Ernie is drawn into a digital world of hedonism, self-exploration and belonging - but the connection he’s been searching for begins to come at a cost. As the line between private life and performance starts to blur, and the town grows more watchful, a carefully held secret begins to surface... A coming-of-middle-age story about what we inherit, the patterns we carry, and the choices they leave us with.

Ray Panthaki is a British actor, writer and filmmaker. A BAFTA Breakthrough Brit and BIFA-nominated actor, he has collaborated with directors including Danny Boyle, Bong Joon Ho and Ed Zwick. As an actor, he appeared in Boiling Point, earning a BIFA nomination for Best Supporting Actor as part of an ensemble recognised with eleven BIFA and four BAFTA nominations. His filmmaking is rooted in naturalism, exploring identity through behaviour and observation. His short films Life Sentence and Ernie developed this approach. In Starland is his feature directorial debut.

MASC
UK  

Director: Bertil Nilsson
Writers: Bertil Nilsson, Joshua Griffin
Producers: Bertil Nilsson, EP Joanne Michael Cast: Joshua Griffin, Tega Alexander, Ed White, Reece King
Production: Duktiga
Sales: Duktiga

Synopsis – Robin is a young man caught between multiple identities - autistic, biracial, queer - and different ideas of masculinity. This leads us on an intimate, and at times funny, journey of self discovery and missteps told in five chapters over the course of a critical year in Robin’s life. He tries on different roles, failing from job to job while transforming his appearance and mannerisms to fit in. But will revealing what he's most desperate to hide finally open the door to belonging?

Bertil Nilsson is a British/Swedish filmmaker and artist based in London. Masc is his debut feature. His first fiction short, Repair, premiered in competition at Clermont-Ferrand in 2023, was selected at BFI Flare and Outfest LA, and acquired by Disney+ and Canal+. It previously won Best Script in the UK parliament's film competition. He has collaborated extensively with dancers and acrobats, including his series of portrait films Figures, which featured on Vimeo Staff Picks and NOWNESS, and two photography books.

OUR SHARE OF SAND
UK 

Director/writer: Shalini Adnani
Producers: Sara Bonakdar, Alan McAlex, Balthazar de Ganay, Giorgos Karnavas, Michael Graf
Cast: Ellora Torchia, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Maya Mehta, Jyoti Dogra, Krish More, Ravi Ranjan
Production: BFI, Film4, Fifth Mirror Pictures, Heretic, Suitable Pictures
Sales: Global Constellation

Synopsis - When 12-year-old Maya returns to rural India to reconnect with her estranged father, an accident linked to his illicit sand mining operation forces her to confront the dark truths beneath her family’s legacy. 

Shalini Adnani is a Chilean-born, Indian-origin writer and director based in London. Her short film White Ant premiered at Sundance, was long listed for a BIFA, won Best UK short at Raindance 2023 and was acquired by Canal+. Her BFI and Film4 funded India-set feature debut Our Share of Sand is currently in post-production. She is a London Film School and Berlinale talents alumni and was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow 2025.

SALVATION
UK  

Director/writer: Tom Nicoll
Producers: Dom Riley, Tom Nicoll, Scott Trotter
Cast: Liam Harkins, Stephen McMillan, Kathleen McDermott, Conor McCarron
Production: Creative Scotland, Lane Films
Sales: Lane Films

Synopsis – A tenacious aspiring guru must go to extreme measures to pay off the debts he’s accrued from trying, and failing, to set up an online life-coaching business in a post-industrial Scottish town. Exploring the world of male influencer culture and how it might be affecting the young men who come into its orbit, Salvation blends mounting tension, dark comedy and a forensic focus on its protagonist to explore the very modern story of a delusional life coach spiralling out of control.

Tom Nicoll is an award-winning Scottish director, whose work has screened at festivals worldwide, received Vimeo Staff Picks, and been shown on online film channels including Short of the Week. He has had a short film funded through Creative Scotland’s SFTN Emerging Talent Scheme which screened on the BBC and received funded development for a feature film with Screen Scotland. Tom is a member of the European Film Academy, BAFTA Connect and Directors UK.