Carla Simón will preside over the Short Films and La Cinef Jury at the 79th Cannes Film Festival

Spanish filmmaker Carla Simón will preside over the jury responsible for evaluating the short films in competition and the works in the La Cinef section at the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival (2026), set to take place from May 12 to 23. The Catalan director, who won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2022 with Alcarràs and competed in Cannes’ official selection in 2025 with Romería, succeeds German director Maren Ade, who held the role last year.

Simón will lead an international jury composed of actress and visual artist Park Ji-Min, French actor and director Salim Kechiouche, Iranian filmmaker Ali Asgari, and Swedish-Polish director Magnus von Horn. The panel will be tasked with awarding the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film among the ten titles in competition, as well as the three La Cinef prizes, a section dedicated to student films that this year features 19 works.

Among the films competing for the Palme d’Or are Latin American entries such as Para los contrincantes, by Argentine director Federico Luis, and Pelotón trueno, by Colombian filmmaker Theo Montoya. In the La Cinef section, Tú, yo y la vaca, by Spanish filmmaker Aina Callejón, and Laser-agato, by Brazilian director Lucas Acher, will also take part.