Cannes not conquered: Did the Culture Ministry mislead everyone?

Earlier, young Uzbek filmmakers won an award at the 17th international inclusive film festival “Entre Deux Cannes” in Cannes, France. The festival is organized for films about people with disabilities, autism and other health conditions. However, reports later spread on social media, state television channels and the official pages of the Ministry of Culture claiming that the filmmakers had won the Grand Prix at the famous Cannes Film Festival, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious film events.

What actually happened?

The short film “Qadam. The Sun Child Yusuf,” produced by the Yoshlik film studio on the order of the Cinematography Agency under the Ministry of Culture of Uzbekistan, won the Grand Prix at “Entre Deux Cannes,” a festival dedicated to films about people with disabilities and health conditions. Although this project is not part of the official selection of the main Cannes Film Festival, it is an independent inclusive film festival held in Cannes at the same time and in parallel with the main event.

Filmmakers from various countries, including Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia, took part in the festival, presenting feature films, short films and documentaries in different genres. More than 600 film applications were submitted for the 2026 Cannes film season, and more than 20 films were selected by the jury. Among the selected works, “Qadam. The Sun Child Yusuf” was awarded the Grand Prix by the jury. In the information provided by the Cinematography Agency, the name of the competition was clearly stated.

Where did the rumors come from?

Sirojiddin Usarov, press secretary of the Ministry of Culture, misinterpreted the news and did not mention the full name of the festival. As a result, reports spread on social media and even on state television channels claiming that “Qadam. The Sun Child Yusuf” had won at the main Cannes Film Festival.

“For the first time, a film made by Uzbek filmmakers has won at the Cannes Film Festival,” Usarov said.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree awarding the film’s creators the Kelajak Bunyodkori medal. The document also stated that “Qadam. The Sun Child Yusuf” had won at the international festival of inclusive films in Cannes.

Moreover, official media outlets emphasized that this was a historic achievement and that Uzbek filmmakers had never won such an award before. This further strengthened the impression among the public that “Qadam. The Sun Child Yusuf” had won at the major cinematic event known as the Cannes Film Festival. However, in 2019, director Shokir Kholikov’s film “Tea” also won the Grand Prix at the Entre Deux Cannes festival held during the days of the Cannes Film Festival. In other words, this was not the first time an Uzbek film had received an award at the parallel inclusive festival in Cannes.

Interestingly, Kholikov’s victory received almost no publicity. According to reports, at that time the director himself was not even included in the delegation. He found out about the award while in Tashkent, meaning that Kholikov did not travel to France and did not receive any government award.

Based on this, it can be said that the confusion arose from inaccurate information presented by the Ministry of Culture, headed by Ozodbek Nazarbekov.

Journalist Anora Sodikova commented on the matter as follows:

“The award received by ‘Qadam. The Sun Child Yusuf’ is good news. The recognition of a work on an inclusive topic at an international event is a valuable result.

But presenting it as ‘Cannes conquered for the first time’ crosses the line between fact and PR.

The truth is this: an Uzbek film received an award at a parallel inclusive festival held in Cannes. This is joyful, but it is not a victory at the official Cannes Film Festival, and the claim that it happened ‘for the first time’ is at least debatable. In cinema history, what remains is not pompous headlines, but real works and fair treatment.”

It should be noted that the main Cannes Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, is being held for the 79th time in 2026. The festival will continue until May 23.

The festival opened with the film “Electric Kiss” by French director Pierre Salvadori.

The 2026 festival has focused mainly on international arthouse cinema. The competition program includes new films by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, Japanese directors Hirokazu Koreeda and Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and American director Ira Sachs.