Steven Soderbergh brought John Lennon: The Last Interview to Cannes 2026 as an official Special Screening, and was open about the fact that around a tenth of its images came out of Meta's generative video tools. Meta also put up the money that let him finish the 97-minute film, and the festival had just signed Meta as its headline tech partner in place of TikTok.
The documentary is built on a long radio interview John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded for KFRC San Francisco at the Dakota on the day Lennon was killed. Soderbergh set well over a thousand archival photos and clips against that audio and used AI only where he had gaps, for abstract, dreamlike passages when the conversation turns philosophical: rings of light, a black rose that turns into dance, lovers in split screen. By his account that comes to roughly ten minutes, and the film contains no synthetic Lennon or Ono. Before the screening, festival director Iris Knobloch read out a letter from Sean Lennon giving the film his blessing.
Soderbergh has explained his reasoning in several interviews. His test was whether an AI shot was necessary and the only or best way to get the image. He said the project had run short of time and money before Meta stepped in, called himself his "own whistle blower" about the AI use, and argued that most jobs on a film set can't be done by the technology. He also suggested that imperfection becomes more valuable as flawless output gets cheap.
The screening landed in a week of sharply opposed views at Cannes. Guillermo del Toro opened a Pan's Labyrinth anniversary screening by swearing at AI. Peter Jackson, accepting an honorary Palme d'Or, said he was open to AI for performance work if performers' estates agreed. At a Marché du Film summit, Darren Aronofsky and Google's James Manyika presented AI as the latest in a long line of filmmaking tools.
The festival's own position is unsettled. Its leadership has said films driven mainly by generative AI would be kept out of competition, though CineD notes this isn't written into the published 2026 rules, and Thierry Frémaux has floated a "made without AI" label. Because the Lennon film screened out of competition, that policy was never tested. No release plan has been announced, and the film stays with its producers and Meta for now.
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