Peter Jackson Celebrated with Honorary Palme d’Or
DEGANZ member Peter Jackson will receive the prestigious Honorary Palme d’Or at the opening ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in May 2026.
Introduced in 1997, the Honorary Palme d’Or is a lifetime achievement award presented to filmmakers who have made an outstanding contribution to world cinema. The award recognises an artist’s body of work rather than a single film and is typically granted to filmmakers with a significant career who have not previously won the festival’s top prize. Past recipients include contemporary screen icons such as Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and George Lucas, alongside legendary filmmakers including Agnès Varda, Woody Allen and Bernardo Bertolucci.
The honour recognises Peter’s decades-long career and his impact on filmmaking, spanning cult classics, archival documentaries, and some of the most ambitious blockbuster productions ever made. Before making cinematic history with The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Peter established himself with a string of acclaimed indie features, including Bad Taste, Braindead and Heavenly Creatures. His adaptation of Tolkien’s fantasy epic went on to become a global phenomenon, winning over fans’ hearts, 17 Academy Awards, and earning more than US$3 billion at the box office. Since then, Peter has contributed to Hollywood blockbuster franchises like King Kong, as well as exploring massive found-footage documentaries, including They Shall Not Grow Old and The Beatles: Get Back.
In announcing the honour, Cannes cited Peter’s ability to “blend Hollywood blockbusters and films d’auteur with extraordinary artistic vision and technological audacity.”
In the official Cannes press release, he shares,
To be honoured with an Honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes is one of the greatest privileges of my career. […] 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.
Last updated on 11 March 2026
