The Mood at Cannes 2026: Monsters, Mafia and Missing Movie Stars

Backrooms, Martin Scorsese and YouTube's Hollywood Takeover

What happens when YouTubers start making some of the biggest films in the world? This week on Cinema in One Take, Emma Jones and Kaleem Aftab dive into the extraordinary success of Backrooms and Obsession, two breakout hits from directors who built huge audiences online before stepping behind the camera. What took Hollywood so long to recognise the talent pipeline? They also tackle the Tribeca-premiering Dreams of Violets by Ash Koosha to Martin Scorsese's latest AI venture, and ask when technology opens doors for filmmakers, and when it starts replacing people. Plus, why are family films still more likely to feature a talking animal than a woman over 60 in a leading role? ( Not to mention a man called Chris)  Emma unpacks the latest industry figures and what they reveal about who Hollywood still thinks can sell a movie. And, in new releases,  Kaleem recommends The Little Sister, the latest film from Hafsia Herzi, a moving coming-of-age drama that explores faith, identity and sexuality in contemporary Paris.

Fjord Wins the Palme d’Or: Inside the Cannes 2026 Awards

Our final Cannes Film Festival wrap-up is here! In this episode of Cinema in One Take, Emma Jones reports back from the Croisette after a whirlwind fortnight at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, while Kaleem Aftab joins to unpack the winners, surprises, controversies and biggest talking points from this year’s Palme d’Or race. They discuss why Christian Mungiu’s Fjord emerged as the festival’s major winner, how films like Minotaur, Fatherland and La Bola Negra were also this year's big winners, and whether Cannes 2026 marked a shift away from easy ideological certainties in contemporary cinema. The conversation also explores: * Why critics appeared divided over Fjord * The growing prominence of LGBTQ stories at Cannes * Why so many of this year’s prize winners were epic-length films * The emotional impact of Coward and A Man of His Time * The strongest discoveries from Un Certain Regard, including Every Time, Ben’Imana and Elephants in the Fog * Breakout cinema from Rwanda, Nepal and the Central African Republic, including Congo Boy * The British success of Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning * The devastating Iranian documentary Rehearsals for a Revolution * And why some of the festival’s most exciting films may have existed outside the main competition entirely Plus: the Palm Dog winner La Perra, Cannes audience reactions, world cinema discoveries, and which films could now become major players in the Oscar conversation.  Sign up for our updates: cinemainonetake.substack.com [https://cinemainonetake.substack.com/] Follow us: @aftabamon [https://www.instagram.com/aftabamon] @emmapjones1 [https://www.instagram.com/emmapjones1/]

Cannes 2026: The Palme d’Or Race Is Wide Open

The Palme d’Or race at the Cannes Film Festival is becoming more unpredictable by the day as the festival enters its final stages. Emma Jones speaks to Kaleem Aftab from Cannes, to talk about the icy family drama Fjord starring Sebastian Stan, the politically charged Russian thriller Minotaur, and the visually stunning World War I love story Coward. They also explore one of the festival’s biggest emerging themes: the remarkable number of LGBTQ+ stories this year, from Japanese romance dramas to queer wartime love stories and buzzy late-night festival title Jim Queen. Sign up for our updates: cinemainonetake.substack.com [https://cinemainonetake.substack.com/] Follow us: @aftabamon [https://www.instagram.com/aftabamon] @emmapjones1 [https://www.instagram.com/emmapjones1/]

The Mood at Cannes 2026: Monsters, Mafia and Missing Movie Stars

AI children. Korean monsters. Missing Hollywood stars. And Jacob Elordi as Bond? In this Cannes dispatch, Emma Jones reports from the Film Festival as she and Kaleem Aftab break down some of the festival’s biggest premieres — from Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Sheep in the Box to Na Hong-jin’s bonkers sci-fi feature Hope, James Gray’s mafia thriller Paper Tiger, and Léa Seydoux’s acclaimed turn in Gentle Monster. They also ask: * Is Cannes losing its Hollywood glamour? * Why are critics so split this year? * Are genre films now dominating competition? * The growing buzz around breakout title Club Kid Plus: Javier Bardem in The Beloved, Scarlett Johansson’s absence hits Cannes hard, and Emma wonders if two French actors could walk away with major prizes. Sign up for our updates: cinemainonetake.substack.com [https://cinemainonetake.substack.com/] Follow us: @aftabamon [https://www.instagram.com/aftabamon] @emmapjones1 [https://www.instagram.com/emmapjones1/]

Is Cannes Less Glamorous? Plus Fatherland, Farhadi & Festival Fatigue

Emma Jones joins Kaleem Aftab from the Cannes Film Festival to unpack the films, politics, and glamour (as well as the growing exhaustion) at Cannes 2026. They discuss the strong early reaction to Pavel Pawlikowski’s Fatherland, why critics are divided over Asghar Farhadi’s Parallel Tales, Sandra Hüller’s latest performance, Isabelle Huppert in Parisian meta-fiction mode, and whether Cannes critics have become too impatient with slow films. Plus: the death of the legendary Cannes villa party, shrinking festival budgets, Women in Film  events and why the festival feels less decadent — but perhaps more revealing — than ever before.” Sign up for our updates: cinemainonetake.substack.com [https://cinemainonetake.substack.com/] Follow us: @aftabamon [https://www.instagram.com/aftabamon] @emmapjones1 [https://www.instagram.com/emmapjones1/]