Indian film distribution company Impact Films has expanded its 2026 Cannes acquisition slate with films from directors Hamaguchi Ryusuke, Kore-eda Hirokazu and Asghar Farhadi, while also entering the Indonesian market for the first time.
Among the acquisitions is Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s All of a Sudden, acquired from Cinefrance International and Japan's Bitters End. The filmmaker's first French-language feature follows a care home director whose life changes through her friendship with a Japanese theater director battling terminal cancer.
The film won the Cannes best actress award for Virginie Efira and Okamoto Tao.
Impact Films has also acquired La Bola Negra (The Black Ball) from Goodfellas. Directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, the queer epic follows the lives of three men across 1932, 1937 and 2017 through an unfinished Federico García Lorca manuscript.
The film won the best director prize at Cannes and received a 20-minute standing ovation.
Also joining the slate is Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Sheep in the Box, acquired from Japan's Gaga Corporation. The near-future drama centres on a grieving couple who welcome a humanoid modeled after their deceased son.
Asghar Farhadi's Parallel Tales, acquired from France's Charades, follows a novelist in Paris who begins spying on neighbours across the street for inspiration, only to find that the fictional narratives she creates begin to overtake reality.
Impact Films has also picked up Léa Mysius's The Birthday Party from MK2 Films. The home-invasion thriller is set in rural France and follows a woman whose birthday celebration turns violent with the arrival of dangerous figures from her past.
Marking its first foray into Indonesian cinema, the company has acquired Joko Anwar's The Ghost in the Cell from Korea's Barunson E&A. The horror-comedy follows rival prison gangs and corrupt guards who must join forces against an invisible supernatural entity that is killing inmates one by one.
The film has recorded more than three million admissions in Indonesia, making it the country's highest-grossing release of 2026.
Impact Films has also acquired "Ikatan Darah" from France's WTFilms. Directed by Sidharta Tata, the film follows a retired pencak silat athlete who confronts criminal loan sharks after her brother's gambling debt places the family in danger.
“This year we have films in French, Japanese, English,Norwegian, Russian and Spanish languages it feels a great responsibility to ensure that each film gets a fair opportunity of being seen by film enthusiasts and general public in India. There are certification challenges but we are sure we will overcome them,” Ashwani Sharma, founder and CEO of Impact Films, told Variety.
“Indonesian films are known for its unique kind of horror which is very gory and violent and we have taken these two genre titles and hope to increase their picks based on the audience response in the Indian market,” Sharma added.
The new acquisitions add to Impact Films' previously announced pickups of Palme d'Or winner Fjord and Grand Prix winner Minotaur.
