Park Chan-wook said the Cannes 2026 jury could not reach a consensus on single winners for three major award categories.
The decision to award ties reflects a rare level of deadlock among the festival's highest critics and creators, highlighting the competitive nature of this year's selection.
Speaking at the final press conference on Saturday, May 24 [1], Park addressed the unusual outcome for Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress [2]. He said that the panel simply could not agree on one individual for these honors. "We couldn't decide…" Park said [3].
The competition jury consisted of nine members [4]. In addition to Park, who served as president, the panel included Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, and Ruth Negga [5].
Beyond the ties, the festival marked a historic milestone for Japanese cinema. The Best Actress category included the first ever win for Japan [6].
Park also used the press conference to joke about the difficulty of the festival's top prize. "I didn't want to award the Palme d'Or to any of the films," Park said [7].
Despite the humor, the jury's inability to separate the top contenders in three categories suggests a highly balanced field of talent this year. The results were finalized during the closing events in Cannes, France [8].
“"We couldn't decide…"”
The prevalence of ties in three major categories suggests a significant divergence in artistic opinion among the jury members. While rare, such deadlocks often occur when a jury is composed of diverse international perspectives that cannot be reconciled into a single majority, resulting in a split honor that acknowledges multiple cinematic achievements simultaneously.
