Cannes Contenders 2026: Germany

Hornbach - No Project Without Drama

I’d say just about everything that could be said or written about this film already has been. 

My decidedly unwitty fifty cents: it's an incredibly bold script, realised with remarkable finesse. Precision at every level. Exceptional craftsmanship throughout. Entirely free of AI. So good!

Hornbach - Just A Board

Another Hornbach film, is never just another Hornbach film. And a piece of wood, is never just a piece of wood. 

A humble plank is the protagonist, a character arc that moves from existential disappointment to quiet inspiration and what you end up with is being emotionally invested in timber. Genius! 

The film feels gloriously raw, tactile, and unmistakably handmade. Unmatched creative from Guido Heffels at the outset, masterfully transformed into a film by ProdCo director Ian Pons Jewell.

Lykke Li - The Afterparty

Rejecting both the polished slop of AI aesthetics and the fatigue of long-form music videos, this campaign embraces ultra-short-form filmmaking. 

The films function as visceral visual metaphors for choosing joy amid chaos and for making the best out of a bad situation. Shot entirely on iPhones and relying purely on practical effects, the films feature real dancers and acrobats performing near-impossible physical feats alongside Lykke Li. 

This raw, deeply human approach turned the album launch into something far greater than a campaign, a genuine cultural moment.

Got bag - Goats Got Bags

Closer to the sea, closer to the king. 

A wonderfully deadpan mockumentary campaign built around a gloriously absurd mix-up. 

What is fact and what is fiction is left entirely to the audience to decide, though, in the end, it hardly matters. Four thoroughly entertaining minutes.

Deutsche Bahn - Boah, Bahn!

People absolutely loved or loathed this campaign. To truly appreciate it, one probably has to be German or at least live in Germany to understand that getting trains to the right place at roughly the right time is hardly Deutsche Bahn’s only challenge. 

Travellers also complain, with remarkable consistency, about questionable hygiene, dysfunctional toilets, broken air conditioning, and the general sensation that the train may have quietly given up on life before arriving in Bielefeld. 

Boah Bahn is therefore less a campaign than a carefully orchestrated attempt at couples therapy between the corporation and a deeply exasperated public. And to give credit where it’s due: yes, they do occasionally get a laugh out of you - much like the occasional Deutsche Bahn train actually arriving on time.