Cannes 2026: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s ‘All Of A Sudden’ earns longest ovation yet as Palme d’Or buzz intensifies

Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi may have emerged as a major Palme d’Or contender at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival after his latest drama All Of A Sudden received an emotional 11-minute standing ovation on Friday night — the longest response of the festival so far.

The 3-hour-and-16-minute film, which is also the longest title in this year’s main competition lineup, reportedly left audiences openly weeping during its closing moments inside the Grand Palais. Hamaguchi appeared visibly emotional during the applause, while stars Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto were seen wiping away tears as the ovation continued.

“Thank you for staying with us for this long movie,” Hamaguchi told the audience through a translator following the screening. “This film would not have been possible without the great actors and crew.”

Set between Paris and Kyoto, All Of A Sudden follows the relationship between the director of a French nursing home and a terminally ill Japanese theatre artist whose arrival reshapes both women’s understanding of care and mortality.

The film is loosely inspired by a real-life published correspondence and marks Hamaguchi’s first French-language feature.

The filmmaker previously won acclaim at Cannes with Drive My Car, which later secured four Academy Award nominations and won Best International Feature at the Oscars. Neon, which handled Drive My Car in North America, has again acquired U.S. distribution rights for the new film.

This year’s Cannes has already seen strong reactions for titles including Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland starring Sandra Hüller, while the festival itself has become increasingly shaped by political conversations surrounding Gaza, censorship and the future of auteur cinema.

The 2026 competition jury is headed by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, alongside members including Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao and Stellan Skarsgård.