Cannes is the most important festival for many Asian buyers specialising in international arthouse films.
Although some sellers note fewer Chinese buyers than usual, there is still a strong Asian presence in town, including Taiwan’s Hooray Films and Indonesias KlikFilm.
“It’s very Gen Z, very hip, very French and very gay,” said Esther Lin, head of acquisitions at Hooray Films, of the 2026 festival lineup. She and her team have watched around 15 films so far.
“We are very much moved by the Japanese animation We Are Aliens and the gay truck driver love story Flesh And Fuel. Both are debut features but very strong,” she said. ”Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma and Low Expectations could attract the hipsters in Taiwan too.”
Besides the Competition titles, she is also searching for young and new voices that push the limits of the medium. “I’m hearing great things about Everytime, Club Kid, La Bola Negra and can’t wait to watch all of them,” she added.
Last year, the Taipei-based company acquired Sound Of Falling, Resurrection and Nouvelle Vague in Competition and its lineup also included Anatomy Of A Fall, The Worst Person In The World and The Seed Of The Sacred Fig.
Lin expects to close deals on quite a few titles on site. “The arthouse market in Taiwan is very vibrant but that means big competition among distributors. Things will get aggressive after the weekend. Buying films at Cannes is a lot of fun?”
Indonesia OTT platform KlikFilm traditionally snaps up all the available Competition titles, taking Sentimental Value, Flow, It Was Just An Accident, The Substance and Emilia Perez in recent years.
Platform director Frederica said there is more on offer this year due to the absence of studio titles. Japanese films Sheep In The Box and All Of A Sudden are her favourites.
“It’s a surprise that there’s no major Hollywood studio in Competition,” says Frederica, director of KlikFilm. “The market has been quiet and the hype is not as big as last year. Fortunately, the prices haven’t changed much, which are still in an affordable range.”
Klikfilm is operated by production company Falcon Pictures, which is also behind Jakarta World Cinema, an Indonesian festival for acclaimed international features.
The upcoming JWC, which runs from October 31-November 7, will host the Indonesian premiere of the latest titles acquired from Cannes and Berlin among other top festivals. The most popular titles will subsequently have a theatrical release, while the entire lineup will be available of OTT platform KlikFilm.
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