The third edition of the Prix Luciole Awards Ceremony took place in May 2026 at Galerie MO11 in Cannes, during the 79th Cannes Film Festival, bringing together film professionals, designers, sales representatives, media figures, and creators from across the international industry. Dedicated exclusively to the art of film posters, Prix Luciole continues to highlight a field that often remains behind the scenes, despite playing a crucial role in the way audiences first encounter cinema.
Founded in 2024, Prix Luciole was created around the idea that posters should not be treated merely as promotional material, but as an essential part of cinema itself. As Zhentong Liu, Programming & Industry Manager of Prix Luciole, noted during the ceremony, “A poster can hold a mood, a memory, a tension — sometimes even an entire world — before a film has even begun.”
Over its first three editions, the initiative has grown from a cultural project focused on cinematic visual creation into an international meeting point for filmmakers, poster designers, producers, journalists, and cinephiles. Returning to Cannes this year, Prix Luciole once again underlined its aim of encouraging dialogue around film imagery and visual storytelling.
The 2026 jury included Lionel Avignon and Stefan de Vivies, founders of Hartland Villa, the creative studio behind the official Cannes Film Festival posters since 2021, as well as Melchior Lamy, Chief Creative Officer of Leroy & Rose, whose work spans film poster design and visual branding. Director and producer Zou Shiqing, although unable to attend the ceremony in person, also participated fully in the judging process.
The event welcomed a number of filmmakers and visual creators from across the industry, including director Kohei Kadowaki and KOTA from Nothing New Sales; Edmon Roch, representing the team behind “VIVA”, which was selected for Cannes Critics’ Week; Eleni, representing the marketing team of “Gabin”, selected for Directors’ Fortnight; Tilda Li Sixue, a member of the 2026 FIPRESCI Jury in Cannes; and Palme d’Or-winning short film director Chen Jianying, among many long-time supporters of Prix Luciole.
This year’s selection showcased a wide range of works recognized for their distinctive visual language and cinematic identity. Three projects received Honorary Mentions: “VIVA”, with poster design by Jordi Rins; “DUA”, with poster design by Florent Jarroir; and “Promised Spaces”, directed by Ivan Marković. The jury praised these posters for their strong artistic direction and their ability to create atmosphere, emotion, and cinematic presence through a single image.
The Special Mention was awarded to “Sanguine”, directed by Marion Le Corroller. The jury highlighted the poster’s visceral intensity and striking physicality, pointing to its unsettling atmosphere and emotional tension as among the most memorable elements of this year’s selection.
The Prix Luciole Jury Prize went to “A Girl Unknown”. According to the jury, the poster distinguished itself not only by presenting the work, but by constructing its own atmosphere and visual space. Its bold artistic choices, strong visual identity, and openness to interpretation helped it stand out in an especially competitive selection. Jury members described it as “one of those rare posters that continued returning to our minds long after the deliberations ended.”
Producer Wang Yang accepted the award on behalf of the movie from jury members Lionel Avignon and Stefan de Vivies. Directed by Zou Jing and starring Li Gengxi, “A Girl Unknown” recently received the GAN Foundation Award for Distribution at Cannes Critics’ Week.
The Prix Luciole Best Poster Award 2026 was ultimately presented to “Titanic Ocean”. The jury praised the poster for its precision of composition and, in particular, the subtle relationship between typography and image. They also emphasized how production credits and partnership elements, which are often treated as purely functional details, were organically integrated into the poster’s visual structure, creating a strong sense of coherence.
For the jury, “Titanic Ocean” stood as one of the strongest and most accomplished film posters in this year’s selection.
Beyond the awards themselves, Prix Luciole aims to become a space of exchange for creators working at the intersection of cinema and visual culture. Through interviews, industry conversations, and editorial initiatives, the project has continued to build dialogue with poster designers, while encouraging greater attention toward cinematic visual creation.
At a time when streaming platforms, algorithms, and accelerated online circulation increasingly shape the way audiences discover movies, Prix Luciole’s focus on poster art feels especially relevant. Posters do more than communicate information. They extend a work’s visual language and often become the audience’s first emotional encounter with cinema.
Although the third edition has now concluded in Cannes, Prix Luciole continues to promote conversations around film imagery, visual storytelling, and cinema culture. For the initiative, awards are not the final destination. What matters most is ensuring that the visual creations shaping cinema from behind the scenes receive the recognition they deserve.
