Mar 06, 2026 2:00pm IST
‘The Lord of the Rings’ Director Peter Jackson To Receive Honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival 2026
Filmmaker Peter Jackson, known for helming the iconic “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Hobbit” trilogy and “King Kong” among others, will be honored at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival with an honorary Palme d'Or.
The organizers of the prestigious French film festival announced Jackson as a recipient on Thursday and hailed him as “a body of work that blends Hollywood blockbusters and films d’auteur with extraordinary artistic vision and technological audacity.”
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Jackson called the honor 'one of the greatest privileges of' his career and recalled his first visit to Cannes in 1988 for selling his film “Bad Taste,” followed in 2001, when he returned to preview “The Fellowship of the Ring.”
“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,” Peter said.
“For its 79th year, the festival welcomes and thanks a filmmaker of boundless creativity who has brought prestige to the heroic fantasy genre,” said Cannes festival president Iris Knobloch.
Last year, legendary actor Robert De Niro received an honorary Palme d'Or, with another surprise honorary award given to Denzel Washington during the festival.
Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux praised the filmmaker and said, “[There is] clearly a before and an after Peter Jackson,” adding, “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?”
Known as one of the most influential filmmakers of the 21st century, Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy grossed $3 billion at the global box-office, collecting a total of 17 Oscars, with 11, including best picture, for the final part, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
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