Touching Hearts Through Cinema -- Chinese Film "My World Without Me" Earns High Praise at Cannes

79th Festival de Cannes • Spotlight on Chinese Cinema • China Pavilion

CANNES, France, May 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 14 (local time), the Chinese film My World Without Me, directed by Tian Hairong, was screened at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. Selected for the International Promotional Screening Unit of the 79th Festival de Cannes, the film garnered warm applause and high praise from audiences around the world, as well as invaluable feedback and insights.

Following the screening, the film's creative team joined a themed panel at the China Pavilion titled "The Power of Images and Care for the Soul," engaging in a heartfelt dialogue with filmmakers and audiences from across the globe on the themes of life and adversity — resonating deeply with the tender hearts of people from all cultural backgrounds. The panel was hosted by China Film Foundation & China Film Association and organized by China Film Foundation • Wutianming Film Fund.

About the Film and Its Creative Team

My World Without Me is directed and headlined by Tian Hairong, with Zhang Hanyu serving as executive producer for the first time. The film was crafted over nearly seven years with exceptional care and dedication. It focuses on the contemporary community of people with hidden depression, conveying love and hope through the quiet spaces of daily life and the gentle light found in ordinary moments. Confronting suffering head-on, the film exemplifies the restrained aesthetics and humanistic warmth characteristic of Chinese realist cinema, offering an Eastern perspective on mental health narratives.

Tian Hairong is a graduate of the Performance Department of the Shanghai Theatre Academy and a renowned actress and producer in mainland China. She received the Golden Deer Award for Best Actress at the Changchun International Film Festival for Romantic Girl, the Best Actress award at the Nordic International Film Festival for The Spirit of a Generation: Tang Qunying, and the Best Supporting Actress award at the 12th Macao International Film Festival. Tian expressed her hope that through international platforms such as Cannes, the world will come to feel the warmth and depth of Chinese cinema.

International Recognition

French director Frédéric Oberlin praised the film for using a uniquely Eastern mastery of emotion to deliver silent feelings directly to the heart. Sinologist Luisa Prudentino noted after viewing the film that its sincere emotional core transcends cultural barriers, protecting the dignity of life and becoming a warm thread of empathy connecting different civilizations.

The film is set to continue participating in further international film festivals, using the power of cinema to build bridges of cultural communication and to help Chinese stories reach the world in a manner rich with humanistic care.

SOURCE China Film Foundation · Wutianming Film Fund