Ron Howard has made a documentary on Richard Avedon that will screen at the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, opening May 12. The film looks at Avedon’s life, his legacy and the extraordinary ease he had with a lens.
Howard, the Apollo 13 director, secured a number of archival treasures for the project, including a handful of never-seen-before Avedon shots. The film is part of the Cannes 2026 lineup, one of several works being highlighted for the festival this year.
Avedon is widely described as having had a huge impact on modern photography, and the documentary aims to show why that influence still matters. The archival material gives the film a rare edge, offering images and moments that have not circulated publicly before.
That is also what makes the timing matter. Cannes starts May 12, and Howard’s film arrives as part of a lineup meant to set the tone for the festival’s 2026 slate. The question now is not whether Avedon left a mark, but how much unseen material the documentary can reveal about the man behind the images.
