CANNES, May 6, 2026 — The 79th Festival de Cannes has unveiled its Cannes Classics selection, a vital program dedicated to film preservation. This year’s edition is dedicated to the memory of legendary production designer Dean Tavoularis.
Major Highlights & Special Screenings
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Pan’s Labyrinth 20th Anniversary: A new 4K restoration of Guillermo del Toro’s masterpiece will pre-open the festival on May 12, with the director in attendance.
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Contemporary Additions: Features the fiction film The Golden Age by Bérenger Thouin and Jean-Gabriel Périot’s documentary A Life, A Manifesto.
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Exclusive Shorts: Recent works from Jia Zhang-Ke, Dustin Yellin (produced by Darren Aronofsky), and Amirhossein Shojaei (produced by Saeed Roustaee).
L’ÂGE D’OR Documentary Contenders
Five high-profile documentaries explore cinema history, featuring icons like:
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Bruce Dern: Dernsie, featuring interviews with Quentin Tarantino and Laura Dern.
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David Lean: Maverick, narrated by Cate Blanchett with insights from Wes Anderson and Francis Ford Coppola.
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Legacy Portrals: In-depth looks at Vittorio De Sica, Chris Marker (narrated by Charlotte Rampling), and Coluche.
The Restored Collection
The lineup includes 21 restored features, meticulously revived by global archives:
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World Masterpieces: Akira Kurosawa’s Sugata Sanshiro (including 12 minutes of lost footage), Andrzej Wajda’s Man of Iron, and Luchino Visconti’s L’Innocente.
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Cult & Genre Classics: Ken Russell’s The Devils (4K), Roger Corman’s Machine Gun Kelly, and Dario Argento-scripted Love Circle.
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International Treasures: Restorations from India (Amma Ariyan), Taiwan (The Dull-Ice Flower), Argentina (The House of Angel), and Burkina Faso (Tilaï).
“Cannes Classics places the prestige of the world’s greatest festival at the service of rediscovered cinema, supporting theatrical and digital re-releases for the major works of the past.”
The screenings will take place across the Buñuel and Agnès Varda theaters, bringing together filmmakers, historians, and the next generation of cinephiles.
Which of these restored masterpieces are you most interested in seeing back on the big screen?
