Neon chief and co-founder Tom Quinn has watched the last six from the same spot: gathered with colleagues around a laptop on the breakfast tables at his Cannes hotel.
鈥淚 think we upgraded a couple years ago and connected the computer to a TV,鈥� Quinn says. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 want to do it any different.鈥�
Quinn has good reason to keep any good luck charm. In all six of those awards ceremonies, Neon has won the Palme, the prestigious top honor of the . It鈥檚 an unparalleled streak for one of the most sought-after prizes in movies, second only to the best picture Oscar. No other studio has ever come close to anything like it.
鈥淣o one ever believes it, but we鈥檝e never gone to Cannes thinking we were going to win the Palme d鈥橭r,鈥� Quinn says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a surprise every single year.鈥�
When the 79th Cannes Film Festival gets underway Tuesday, Neon 鈥� a 60-person company founded in 2017 鈥� rides in as an unlikely heavyweight. It鈥檚 backing more than a quarter of the 22 films in competition for the Palme. Its odds of making it seven in a row are good. Some of the most hotly anticipated titles 鈥� including Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s 鈥淎ll of a Sudden,鈥� Korean auteur Na Hong-jin’s 鈥淗ope鈥� and James Gray鈥檚 鈥淧aper Tiger鈥� 鈥� are Neon鈥檚.
Altogether, the indie distributor has nine films in Cannes. All, Quinn notes, they signed on for before the films’ Cannes invite.
鈥淚 hate to break it to everyone but don鈥檛 hate us for our good taste,鈥� says Quinn. 鈥淲ho鈥檚 chasing who here? Thierry (Fr茅maux, Cannes artistic director) is going to make up his own mind and we鈥檙e going to make up our own mind. It just so happens that we agree.鈥�
Big studios are absent at Cannes, but Neon is everywhere
When of this year鈥檚 festival, he lamented the almost nonexistent presence of Hollywood鈥檚 major studios. 鈥淲hen the studios are less present in Cannes, they are less present full stop,鈥� he said.
While studio releases like Warner Bros.鈥� and Universal鈥檚 upcoming can be major Oscar players, a wide swath of the most original movies of the past decade have been released by specialty labels like Neon and A24.
Both have risen to prominence at international film festivals like Cannes and at the Oscars by focusing on filmmakers,
鈥淚t鈥檚 not rocket science and there鈥檚 nothing secret about it,鈥� says Quinn. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pursuing the directors and films we want to be a part of.鈥�
Quinn had worked at Samuel Goldwyn Films and Magnolia Pictures before, in 2011, launching Radius, a boutique label with Harvey Weinstein. Though, at Neon, Quinn expected A24 to be his chief competition, he found himself often bidding against Netflix, on movies like Neon鈥檚 first acquisition, the Margot Robbie-led 鈥淚, Tonya鈥� and
鈥淲e did not outbid them but we out-passioned them,鈥� says Quinn.
Neon does produce films (like the upcoming 鈥淚 Love Boosters鈥�), but it largely sticks to distributing movies in North America, often with awards campaigns attached to their releases. It has boarded its Palme d鈥橭r winners 鈥� 鈥淚t Was Just an Accident,鈥� 鈥淎nora,鈥� 鈥淎natomy of a Fall,鈥� 鈥淭riangle of Sadness,鈥� 鈥淭itane鈥� and 鈥淧arasite鈥� 鈥� in a variety of ways.
Some were acquired in Cannes. Some, like Neon boarded at the script stage. Quinn signed up for the body horror freak-out 鈥淭itane鈥� even though the script made no sense to him. He just believed in its writer-director . In that way, Neon is the ultimate anti-algorithm studio.
And yet faith in filmmakers and good taste have carried Neon to the greatest heights of Hollywood. Both 鈥淧arasite鈥� and won best picture at the Academy Awards after winning the Palme. Neon nearly swept the best international Oscar category last March, with four of the five nominees: the winning 鈥淪entimental Value,鈥� 鈥淪ir膩t,鈥� 鈥淭he Secret Agent鈥� and 鈥淚t Was Just an Accident.鈥�
Breaking subtitle barriers
鈥淧arasite鈥� famously became the 鈥� a triumph for the 鈥�1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles,鈥� as Bong Joon Ho noted in his acceptance speech.
Neon, majority owned by Dan Friedkin鈥檚 30West, is far from competing with studio blockbusters at the box office. (Its biggest ticket seller thus far was with $75 million.) But Neon has proved there鈥檚 a larger audience than many would have expected for daring, often international cinema.
They are, Quinn says, 鈥渁gnostic鈥� about where its titles come from, and the company鈥檚 small size means they can give each movie a bespoke rollout. And by the end of the year, Neon will gather its releases into a DVD box set, even though many voters don鈥檛 have DVD players anymore.
鈥淎udiences are desperate, desperate for creativity,鈥� Quinn says. 鈥淔ilms are not packaged goods. The idea that this art form that is so subjective is treated as a P & L (profit and loss statement), I don鈥檛 know how you can make good creative decisions when you鈥檙e dealing with billions of debt looming at your door.鈥�
Neon鈥檚 slate in Cannes is typically wide-ranging. Also up for the Palme is Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu鈥檚 鈥淔jord,鈥� with Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve; Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda鈥檚 鈥淪heep in the Box鈥�; and 鈥淭he Unknown,鈥� by 鈥淎natomy of a Fall鈥� cowriter Arthur Harari. It also has Nicolas Winding Refn鈥檚 鈥淗er Private Hell鈥�; Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri鈥檚 鈥淐larissa鈥� and William and David Greaves鈥� already lauded documentary, 鈥淥nce Upon a Time in Harlem.鈥�
Some of the movies that escaped Neon鈥檚 grasp still irk Quinn. He missed out on Kore-eda鈥檚 鈥淪hoplifters,鈥� the Palme winner in 2018.
鈥淭he idea that we would have won seven Palmes in a row is completely outlandish,鈥� Quinn says. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 a huge regret.鈥�
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
