New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson has been named as this year’s recipient of the honorary Palme d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. UPDATE: Festival de Cannes has announced that Barbra Streisand will also receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2026.
Jackson said that to be honoured with this award is “one of the greatest privileges of my career”, and noted that Cannes has been a “meaningful part of my filmmaking journey”.
The Lord of the Rings movie director said: “In 1988, I attended the (Cannes) Festival Marketplace with my first movie, Bad Taste; then in 2001 we screened a preview sequence from The Fellowship of the Ring, both of which were important milestones in my career.”
In fact Jackson’s life changed in those 26 minutes on the Croisette in 2001. It was still seven months before The Fellowship of the Ring’s worldwide release. The film was still being edited, but those breathtaking shots that were previewed in Cannes turned initial skepticism into general enthusiasm. That was the day that the sweeping success of the Middle-Earth saga began.
It went on to win 17 Oscars, and $3 billion in revenue, the 8th most profitable cinematic venture in history with 10 times less investment, according to a Festival de Cannes press release.
The Festival said Jackson – a film director, screenwriter and producer – has been selected for the award in recognition of a body of work that “blends Hollywood blockbusters and films d’auteur with extraordinary artistic vision and technological audacity”.
Jackson responded to the accolade, saying: “This festival has always celebrated bold, visionary cinema, and I’m incredibly grateful to the Festival de Cannes for being recognised among the filmmakers and the artists whose work continues to inspire me.”
Previous Honorary Palme d’Or recipients have included Agnès Varda, Marco Bellocchio, Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep, and last year’s Robert De Niro.
Jackson will receive the honorary award on Tuesday 12 May 2026, during the opening ceremony.
Festival Director Thierry Frémaux pointed out that there is “clearly a before and an after Peter Jackson. Larger-than-life cinema is his trademark, and his all-encompassing art of entertainment is particularly ambitious. He has permanently transformed Hollywood cinema and its conception of the spectacle. But Peter Jackson is not only a great technician; he is above all a tremendous storyteller. And an unpredictable artist: what will his next universe be?” (At Cannes Lions 2025, Jackson spoke about an incredible film museum he is creating.)
Peter Jackson’s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy
Just some of the facts and figures around this ground-breaking production include:
- The Lord of the Rings trilogy, began in 2001, revolutionizing the way images are made.
- It’s based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.
- The trilogy includes: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003).
- Filmed entirely and simultaneously in the sumptuous setting of New Zealand, which also hosted the post-production of special effects, editing, and mixing.
- The trilogy presented a colossal logistical challenge: two years of pre-production, 274 days of filming, three years of post-production, 20,602 extras, 2,400 technicians, and a budget of $1 million per day!
- Jackson returned to Tolkien’s Middle-Earth to direct The Hobbit trilogy between 2012 and 2014.
The 79th CANNES FILM FESTIVAL will take place from Tuesday, May 12 to Saturday, May 23, 2026.
