The 69th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian filmmaker George Miller was the president of the jury for the main competition. British filmmaker Ken Loach won the , the festival's top prize, for a second time with the drama film I, Daniel Blake. At a press conference, Loach said that he was "quietly stunned" to win.
The official poster pays homage to Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt (1963), featuring a still of Michel Piccoli ascending the Casa Malaparte. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies.
The festival opened with Café Society by Woody Allen.
The films competing in the main competition section for the were announced at a press conference on 14 April 2016: The Salesman by Asghar Farhadi was added to the competition lineup on 22 April 2016. The following films were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or:
The films competing in the Un Certain Regard section were announced at a press conference on 14 April 2016: Clash by Mohamed Diab, was announced as the opening film for the Un Certain Regard section. Hell or High Water by David Mackenzie was added to the lineup on 22 April 2016. The following films were selected:
The following films were selected to screen out of competition:
The following films were selected to receive Special Screening:
The Cinéfondation section focuses on films made by students at film schools. The following 18 entries (14 fiction films and 4 animation films) were selected out of 2,300 submissions. More than one-third of the films selected represent schools participating in Cinéfondation for the first time. It is also the first time that a film representing Bosnian and Venezuelan film schools have been selected. More than half of the films selected were directed by women.
Out of 5,008 entries, the following films were selected to compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or.
The full line-up for the Cannes Classics section was announced on 20 April 2016. With the screening of the first prize of the Fipresci, for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the International Federation of Film Critics awards.
The Cinéma de la Plage is a part of the Official Selection of the festival. The outdoors screenings at the beach cinema of Cannes are open to the public.
The full selection for the Critics' Week section was announced on 18 April 2016, at the section's website. In Bed with Victoria by Justine Triet was selected as the opening film, while the short films Bonne Figure by Sandrine Kiberlain, En Moi by Laetitia Casta, and Kitty by Chloë Sevigny were selected as the closing films.
The full selection for the Directors' Fortnight section was announced on 19 April 2016, at the section's website. Sweet Dreams by Marco Bellocchio was selected as the opening film, while and Dog Eat Dog by Paul Schrader was selected as the closing film.
The Association for Independent Cinema and its Distribution (ACID), an association of French and foreign film directors, demonstrates its support for nine films each year, seeking to provide support from filmmakers to other filmmakers. The full ACID selection was announced on 19 April 2016, at the section's website.