Cannes 2026: Peter Jackson To Be Honoured With Palme d’Or

The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson will receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2026. The Cannes Film Festival will celebrate the filmmaker "who has forever transformed Hollywood cinema." The three-time Oscar-winning director will be honoured with the prestigious award at the opening ceremony of Cannes 2026.

Peter Jackson to receive Palme d’Or at Cannes 2026

Cannes on Thursday (March 5) announced the honour to Jackson, praising his "body of work that blends Hollywood blockbusters and films d’auteur with extraordinary artistic vision and technological audacity."

"On 13 May 2001, 26 minutes were enough. The first images, still in editing, of The Lord of the Rings were presented as a world premiere to the press at the 54th edition of the Festival. With this now-legendary trilogy, Peter Jackson initiated one of the most decisive turning points in contemporary cinema: a new way of creating images, building universes and telling stories🧙‍♂️(sic)," Cannes shared the news on social media alongside a picture of Jackson.

"25 years later, the Festival de Cannes celebrates the man who has forever transformed Hollywood cinema," it added.

Here's the post.

With the honour, Jackson has joined the likes of Cannes Palme d’Or recipients, including Agnès Varda, Marco Bellocchio, Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro and Tom Cruise.

According to Variety, on the honour, Jackson called it “one of the greatest privileges” of his career.

“Cannes has been a meaningful part of my filmmaking journey. In 1988, I attended the Festival Marketplace with my first movie, Bad Taste, then in 2001 we screened a preview sequence from The Fellowship of the Ring, both of which were important milestones in my career. This festival has always celebrated bold, visionary cinema, and I’m incredibly grateful to the Festival de Cannes for being recognised among the filmmakers and the artists whose work continues to inspire me.”

The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 12 to 23, 2026.