Great 8 showcase revealed for Cannes 2026
’Great 8’ is the BFI and British Council’s annual showcase of new UK feature films from first-time and early career filmmakers, which will be shown to programmers and distributors attending the Cannes Film Festival.
The GREAT 8 showcase, which presents new UK feature films from some of the UK’s most exciting first-time and early career filmmakers to international distributors and festival programmers, has announced eight new projects for this year’s edition, taking place throughout this year’s Cannes Marché.
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).
The films and filmmakers in this year’s GREAT 8 are:
- 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
“Our annual GREAT 8 showcase, which has previously championed both first and second time filmmakers, focuses entirely on debuts for its ninth edition,” says Briony Hanson, the British Council’s Director of Film. “With formats and genres ranging from thrillers to experimental films on show, and films from Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England in the line-up, the selection represents the breadth of new voices and new work happening in the UK. It also symbolises the importance of collaboration to the UK industry, with a number of non UK-born directors and co-productions in the mix.”
“It’s incredibly encouraging to see another fantastic line up of strong UK debuts for this year’s GREAT 8 – showcasing the range of unique and original filmmaking voices coming into our industry,” says Agnieszka Moody, BFI Head of International Relations. “We are delighted to partner with British Council on GREAT 8 to give this invaluable opportunity to up-and-coming talent, which has proved to be an effective route to be discovered by the international film community and accelerating careers.”
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.