It’s been 35 years since ‘Thelma & Louise’ premiered in Cannes on 20 May 1991, shattering a few gender stereotypes (and launching Brad Pitt’s career). This year, our heroines are back… on the official poster for the 79th Cannes Film Festival, it was announced this evening, 21 April 2026.
The two women (played by Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis) embodied what female friendship means, and the unflinching desire for freedom.
“They showed the way to emancipation when it becomes vital,” the Festival de Cannes said in a press release on Tuesday evening. “Remembering this today means celebrating the road already covered, without overlooking what still remains ahead.”
Sitting in a 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible, under the Arkansas sun, they hit the road, and escaped from their lives, from society and from the men who mistreated them, to forge their own path. The film’s themes were groundbreaking in 1991, and still resonate today.
“To embody them, the Festival de Cannes has chosen this black-and-white still from the set of a colourful film that celebrates life and the timeless struggles for the freedom to be oneself,” said the Festival, pointing out how Louise “locks eyes with us and challenges us with her gaze”.
‘Thelma & Louise’ was director Ridley Scott’s seventh movie. Written by Callie Khourie and produced by Mimi Polk Gitlin (Blade Runner, Alien and more), the film was controversial but popular. It overturned conventional expectations for a road movie – usually a male genre – and revealed the heavy price the women paid for reclaiming ownership of their bodies and desires.
As cinema’s first female and feminist road movie, Thelma and Louise became immortal icons. “Today, they confront us; and observe their own legacy,” said the Festival.
The poster is available for pre-order on the Festival’s online store website here.
The Cannes Film Festival 2026 is from 12-23 May.
Credit for the official poster: Photo by Roland Neveu, on the set of Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991) © MGM Studios / Graphic design © Hartland Villa
