John Travolta had an emotional moment at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival as he returned alongside daughter Ella Bleu Travolta more than 30 years after attending the event with his late wife, Kelly Preston.
Premiering his directorial debut Propeller One-Way Night Coach at the festival on May 15, the Hollywood icon became visibly emotional.
Travolta, who also received an honoury Palme d’Or from the organizers, told the audience, “This is beyond the Oscar.”
He admitted that he “cried like a baby” after learning his film had been accepted into the festival lineup.
Speaking with People Magazine, Travolta said, “There’s such a long history of us at Cannes.”
The actor and director also reflected on hhis first appearance at the festival in 1994 when Pulp Fiction won the Palm d’Or, a milestone he shared with Preston years before their daughter was born. “The birth of it having significance would have been Pulp Fiction before Ella was born.”
“So, it would have been very significant for Kelly and I because we saw Pulp Fiction for the first time at Cannes, and we won the Palme d’Or,” he said.
Travolta added, “Jump to now, with Ella starring in Propeller One-Way Night Coach, and my winning the Palme d’Or, there’s this beautiful, glorified connection that’s like the pillars between Pulp that won and Propeller — that’s reflective of this win, that it makes this gorgeous framework.”
“So yes, it feels significant,” he noted.
On the other hand, Ella, the daughter of John Travolta and Kelly Preston shared about her experience in the film, saying, “I knew it was just such a special night for my whole family that I sort of made sure to put myself in the moment and really take it all in.”
“And it felt very calm, actually, and very just beautiful and very emotional,” she added.
