Cannes Contenders 2026: The UK

In a world increasingly dominated by discussions about AI it’s nice to have the opportunity to shine a light on human creativity. 

Because we’re still doing some brilliant stuff, it turns out. Here’s a selection of great UK work selected from a much bigger list I could have chosen. I’ve tried to pick a breadth of styles, tones and scales but I could just as easily have written an entirely different article detailing an entirely different set of work.

4Creative Fountain of Filth

I thought 4Creative’s Fountain of Filth statue for Channel 4’s Dirty Business was great. A series of vomiting people beautifully crafted as a 10 metre statue on the South Bank in London to point out how the privatised water companies have literally put shit in the UK’s water. 

Simple idea, excellently executed, by the reliably brilliant Glue Society.

For those reading not in the UK - we really are the only major developed county in the world to have sold their water supply to a hedge fund and allowed them to siphon off billions of pounds while filling our water full of raw sewage. Yes, as shocking as it sounds, and a statue to match. Simple idea, excellently executed, by the reliably brilliant Glue Society who’ve really carved out a niche for themselves in large scale builds over the last few years. Statues have been done before but almost never this appropriately and with this commitment to craft and projectile vomiting.

Waitrose The Perfect Gift

Onto film, and Waitrose won Christmas (our Super Bowl) according to the public and industry alike. Flawlessly directed by Molly Manners it felt like a short slice of a Richard Curtis-esque rom com rather than an ad trying to be a short slice of a Richard Curtis-esque rom com. 

Hard not to not like for even the most hardened cynics.

A familiar storyline we all know and love and its execution was perfect. Hard not to not like for even the most hardened cynics.

Confused.com Wife/Dad/Neighbour

Next, I love Jeff Low, still one of the world’s most reliable and best comedy directors for me. And here he is again with some restrained, elegant, perfectly pitched 30-second ads for Confused.com and Leo’s. Jeff does the VO, as he often does.

Restrained, elegant, perfectly pitched.

Effortless post too with inflating people becoming lighter after clicking on their insurance. Not trying too hard and all the better for it. Can AI do comedy? Don’t know, but until it can, let’s keep making each other laugh as we march towards the apocalypse.

Andrex Conquer the First School Poo

And to complete the Biscuit bingo, who’ve had a frankly exceptional year, a nod to Andreas Nilsson and FCB’s bold Andrex film. It’s amazing what FCB have done with toilet roll advertising after decades of brands trying to pretend they’re not selling a product that literally exists to help you wipe your arse. 

Toilet humour. Who knew it could be a gold mine for comedy?

Toilet humour. Who knew it could be a gold mine for comedy? Even before I knew who’d directed it I kind of already knew, such is the strength of Andreas’s directorial voice. The chorus of school children singing ‘pooooo’ is genius and something very few directors would have done. And that’s how great directors are judged in the end. There are lots of people who can point a camera but these little moments of magic are the difference for me.

CHANEL Métiers d’art 2026 Collection Teaser

A return to form for Michel Gondry through Partizan with his film for Metiers D’Art and Chanel. I love the confidence of using a deliberately old fashioned, simple, cinematic trick of speeding up A$AP Rocky on his way to propose to Margaret Qualley. Somehow feels way more modern than any amount of CGI or AI fuckery to me. Again, a great director doing what great directors do.

Claude Keep Thinking

And the same too for Daniel Wolfe, Mother and Claude. In the last few years Daniel has almost single handedly reminded the industry we can still do great things with lenses, frame rates, exposures and film. Again, old techniques feeling super modern against a zeitgeist of caution and formula. Great directorial choices throughout, and a brilliant music choice too.