Magnific at Cannes Lions 2026: AI Took the Big Screen
Our first Cannes Lions as Magnific, and we went all in: official partner of the Festival, a cabana on the main terrace of the Palais des Festivals, a seminar at the Debussy Theatre, and the world premiere of an AI-made short film.
We also landed in the middle of the week’s biggest debate. Everyone at Cannes agreed that AI is moving fast, but speed isn’t the hard part anymore. From Oprah Winfrey to Demis Hassabis, the message on every stage was some version of the same idea: the creative edge still comes from human intent and taste. That happens to be exactly what we came to say.
Here’s how the week went.
The Magnific x SAWA seminar
Together with SAWA, the Global Cinema Advertising Association, we hosted a seminar at the Debussy Theatre on how brands can scale with AI without losing craft and trust. Cinema sets the bar here: it’s still the toughest test of visual storytelling, and there’s nowhere to hide on a screen that big.
Our own Glenn Wastyn (Head of B2B EMEALA) shared the stage with Kathryn Jacob OBE (SAWA President and CEO of Pearl & Dean), Billy Bohan Chinique (Virgin Voyages) and Nik Kleverov (Native Foreign). Some moments that stuck:
- Glenn on what makes premium AI different: intent. “Magnific isn’t about generating and generating and generating. It’s about giving control to the creator. The source of creativity is human.”
- Nik on the hype: “AI has a PR problem.” Everyone is chasing the “I made this in two hours for two bucks” headline, but that’s not how creative work happens, and it never will be.
- Billy on what hasn’t changed: you still need a great story and great creatives at the heart of every piece. Virgin Voyages proved it by premiering its new Mermaids films, made with Magnific, right there in the room. Stories the brand had wanted to tell for years and never had a $100M budget for.
Virgin Voyages also screened a behind-the-scenes film for their Mermaids campaign, made with Magnific and guided by a principle worth stealing: if a human can go film it, they film it. No synthetic vacations. AI is for the stories that were otherwise impossible, not a shortcut to fake the ones that aren’t.
Candela premieres on the big screen
The seminar also hosted the world premiere of Candela, a Magnific Original short film directed by Myriam Mira. This intimate story built from a personal memory tied to the night of San Juan was made by three female AI Creatives in about ten days, with no shoot, no cast and no locations needed. Getting from Myriam’s mind to the big screen took 2,591 generations.
“I wanted the audience to forget they were watching something made with AI,” Myriam says. Judging by how quiet the Debussy theatre went, it worked.
A Lion made with Magnific
Huge congratulations to The RealReal, the leading US marketplace for authenticated luxury resale, production company Lipstick and director Sebastian Strasser, who won a Silver and a Bronze Lion for L’ultimo Uomo Reale.
The film, made with Magnific tools, follows an AI character trying to convince us he’s real while his world glitches apart around him. The only real thing in every frame is the bag. For a brand whose entire business is verifying what’s real, making that point with AI was the smartest move of the week. Authenticity gets rewarded.
Happy Hour on the Main Terrace
On Wednesday we swapped panels for cocktails. Our Happy Hour on the Main Terrace brought together more than 300 brands, filmmakers, creative leaders and technologists, with drinks overlooking the Croisette, a live DJ and a VIP lounge. No presentations, no slides. Just good conversations with the people shaping what creativity does next.
The terrace was packed all evening, which felt like the right way to close the loop on the week’s theme: even as AI joins the toolkit, the best ideas still start with people.
See you on the Croisette next year.
