Pan’s maze and The fast and the furious It is set to return once again to the Croisette as part of this year’s Cannes Classics lineup, a typically eclectic mix of restored masterpieces, rediscoveries and tributes to film heritage that underscores the department’s growing influence within the festival’s official selection.
Nearly two decades after its launch, Cannes Classics has become a cornerstone of the Cannes programme, highlighting restoration works from archives, studios and cinemas around the world. This year’s edition is dedicated to the memory of production designer Dean Tavoularis (The godfather, Apocalypse now), will present 22 feature-length restorations, three short films and six documentaries, along with two contemporary films.
Guillermo del Toro Pan’s maze It will be screened as a pre-opening selection in a newly restored 4K version, marking the 20th anniversary of its debut at Cannes, where it earned a record-breaking 22-minute standing ovation. Del Toro will be on hand for the show. On the other end of the Croisette spectrum, Rob Cohen has had great success in street racing The fast and the furious He gets a spot at midnight at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, attended by cast members Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster.
The restored collection spans continents and eras, from Artavazd Pelechian’s quartet of films Belishian Project To Andrei Wajda Man of ironLuchino Visconti Innocent people And Akira Kurosawa Sujata Sanshiru. New restorations of Overtime By Jerzy Skolimowski and Mitty on footwith Dario Argento set to present it.
Beyond restorations, Cannes Classics continues to focus on documentary storytelling about cinema itself. This year’s selection includes photographs by Bruce Dern at Dearness: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dearnessin the presence of Dern, his daughter Laura Dern, and David Lean Maverick: Epic Adventures by David Lean. Other titles explore the legacies of Vittorio De Sica and Chris Marker, while Irish documentary filmmaker Mark Cousins returns with Documentary film story (1970s).
The department will also host two new works: Bérenger Thouin’s The golden agea sweeping fantasy portrait of a woman navigating the twentieth century, and a portrait of Jean-Gabriel Berriot. Life, statementA documentary that follows the life of critic, director and revolutionary Michele Virk.
Three short films will be screened in a special program featuring Jia Chang-ke, Dustin Yellin and Amir Hossein Shojaei, with talent including Zhao Tao, Paul Rudd and Darren Aronofsky expected to appear at the Croisette.
The performances will take place at the Buñuel and Agnès Varda theaters as well as at the Cinéma de la Plage.
Full lineup:
Recovered prints:
Pan’s maze (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)
The fast and the furious (Rob Cohen, 2001)
Belishian Project (Artavazd Belishian, 1966-1975)
Sierra de Teruel (Espoir) (André Malraux, 1938)
Overtime (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1982)
Metti una sera a cena (Circle of Love) (Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, 1968)
Ama Ariane (Report to Mother) (John Abraham, 1986)
Goodbye my concubine (Chen Kaige, 1993)
Man of iron (Andrzej Wojda, 1981)
Eva (Maria Pletta, 1953)
Devils (Ken Russell, 1971)
La Casa del Angel (The Angel’s House) (Leopoldo Torre Nelson, 1957)
La Ciuciara (two women) (Vittorio De Sica, 1960)
La Derive (Drift) (Paola Delsol, 1964)
Pastoral Symphony (Pastoral Symphony) (Jean Delanoy, 1946)
L’innocente (The Innocent) (Lucino Visconti, 1976)
Lu Binghua (Pale Ice Flower) (Yang Li Kuo, 1989)
Machine gun kelly (Roger Corman, 1958)
Meeuwen sterven in de Haven (Seagulls die in the harbour) (Roland Verhavert, Rick Kuipers, Ivo Michels, 1955)
Sujata Sanshiru (Akira Kurosawa, 1943)
Telay (Idrissa Ouedraogo, 1990)
Strange (Orson Welles, 1945)
Documentaries:
Documentary film story (1970s) (Mark Cousins, 2026)
Dearness: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dearness (Mike Mendez, 2026)
Maverick: Epic Adventures by David Lean (Barnaby Thompson, 2026)
Vittorio De Sica – Organizing Life (Francesco Zippel, 2026)
Mon Coluche à moi (My Coluche) (Michel Deniso, Camille Breuer, Julie Lazar)
Nostalgia for the future (Brecht Debakiri, 2026)
Contemporary films:
The golden age (Behringer Thoen, 2026)
Life, statement (Jean-Gabriel Bereau, 2026)
Short films:
Good night Lambie (Dustin Yellen, 2026)
Turin shadow (Jia Zhangke, 2026)
Zamin Bazi Stadium (Amir Hossein Shojaei, 2025)
