The UK’s Cannes Great 8 online showcase of feature films from early-career UK filmmakers has unveiled its 2026 lineup, with projects from two Screen International Stars of Tomorrow, Shalini Adnani’s Our Share Of Sand and Billy Lumby’s Florid.
Adnani’s debut Our Share Of Sand stars Ellora Torchia, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Maya Mehta. A 12-year-old returns to India with her mother to reunite with her father, where they are met with a tragic accident. The young girl is forced to address a pattern of exploitation and complicity that runs through her family. The BFI and Film4-backed project is produced by Fifth Mirror Pictures, Heretic and Suitable Pictures, with Global Constellation selling.
Florid is set in the world of London’s supported accommodation and psychiatric wards and tells the story of a young man who hears voices. Jonathan Jules, Saskia Chana and rapper Unknown T star. Backers include BBC Film, Film i Väst, Academy Films and Head Gear, with Atar Studios and Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor’s Joi Productions producing.
Footage from all the titles will be introduced by their filmmakers and screened online exclusively to buyers and festival programmers from midday May 8 and throughout the festival. There is no longer a physical component to the showcase.
Great 8 is funded and produced by the BFI and British Council, with support from BBC Film and Film4.
Great 8 2026 line-up
Ancestors (Ire-UK)
Dir-scr: David Turpin
Prods: Miranda Ballesteros, David Collins, Eamon Hughes
Prod cos: Samson Films, Lunatica, Yellow Moon
Backers: Screen Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen
Cast: Éanna Hardwicke, Jessica Reynolds, Jack Wolfe, Rupert Everett, Christina Hendricks
Sales: Mister Smith Entertainment
Black Church Bay (UK)
Dir-scr: Rhys Marc Jones
Prods: Tristan Goligher, Alex Polunin
Prod cos: The Bureau, Ossian International
Backers: BBC Film, Ffilm Cymru Wales
Cast: Tom Cullen, Joe Locke, Marli Siu, Rakie Ayola, Dylan Michael
Sales: The Bureau
Daughter Of Eden (UK-Ire)
Dir-scr: Fateme Ahmadi
Prods: Jack Tarling, Pietro Greppi, Jackie Larkin
Prod cos: Lunapark Pictures, Shudder Films and Newgrange Pictures
Backers: BFI, BBC Film, Screen Ireland, Civic Studios, Three Point Capital
Cast: Yasmin Al-Khudhairi, Hiam Abbass, Amir El-Masry, Lindsay Duncan
Sales: Lucky Number
Florid (UK)
Dir-scr: Billy Lumby
Prods: Rupert Lloyd, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
Prod cos: Atar Studios, Joi Productions
Backers: BBC Film, Film i Väst, Head Gear, Metrol Technology, Academy Films, Red Union Films
Cast: Jonathan Jules, Saskia Chana, Unknown T
Sales: Atar Studios
In Starland (UK)
Dir: Ray Panthaki
Scrs: Ray Panthaki, Jason Kavan
Prods: Daniel Khalili, Ray Panthaki, Daisy Allsop, Victor Paul Wajnberg
Prod cos: Le Bateau Lavoir, Archface Films, Killer Films
Cast: Clarence Maclin, Bella Maclean, Miss Benny, Marcus Scribner, Ben Dickey
Sales: Le Bateau Lavoir
Masc (UK)
Dir: Bertil Nilsson
Scrs: Bertil Nilsson, Joshua Griffin
Prod: Bertil Nilsson
Prod cos: Duktiga
Cast: Joshua Griffin, Tega Alexander, Ed White, Reece King
Sales: Duktiga
Our Share Of Sand (UK)
Dir-scr: Shalini Adnani
Prods: Sara Bonakdar, Alan McAlex, Balthazar de Ganay, Giorgos Karnavas, Michael Graf
Prod cos: Fifth Mirror Pictures, Heretic, Suitable Pictures
Backers: BFI, Film4
Cast: Ellora Torchia, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Maya Mehta, Jyoti Dogra, Krish More, Ravi Ranjan
Sales: Global Constellation
Salvation (UK)
Dir-scr: Tom Nicoll
Prods: Dom Riley, Tom Nicoll, Scott Trotter
Prod cost: Lane Films
Backers: Creative Scotland
Cast: Liam Harkins, Stephen McMillan, Kathleen McDermott, Conor McCarron
Sales: Lane Films
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