Guillermo del Toro is bringing ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ to Cannes 20 years after its debut

Guillermo del Toro is reissuing one of his most important movies. 20 years after debuting at the Cannes Film Festival, “Pan’s Labyrinth” will screen at the festival in a new restoration.

As reported by Variety, the restoration of the film was supervised by Del Toro himself, who was involved in every stage of the process. The film will be a part of the 2026 Cannes Classics lineup, alongside notorious and beloved films like “Farewell My Concubine,” “Moonlighting,” “The Devils,” and more. 

Back in 2006, “Pan’s Labyrinth” debuted in Cannes with a record-breaking 22-minute standing ovation. It marked a before-and-after moment for Del Toro, with him sacrificing his entire salary to make the film. It went on to earn 6 Academy Award nominations and three wins for Cinematography, Art Direction, and Makeup. 

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Pan’s Labrynth’s grueling shooting process

“Pan’s Labrynth” is one of Del Toro’s most beloved movies. Over the years, he’s discussed the challenges of shooting it, revealing that it came at a key moment in his career, following international acclaim, with him making the decision to return to a smaller and more intimate type of filmmaking. 

“I like going from big movies to smaller movies,” he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I like it because it keeps you honest, and it keeps you scared. Both things are very important. But everything that could go wrong on Pan’s Labyrinth went wrong. And the crew also thought that we were insane. The Spanish crew thought that I was a complete fool in the mountain, screaming nonsense.”

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Del Toro has always made it clear that the films he makes come from a deep love for filmmaking and the connection he established with the medium when he was a kid. “I thought of the movies that made me survive this life when I was a kid because movies saved my life and my sanity a few times,” he said. 

“The people that like my movies, I’m fortunate that they connect to them in the same molecular way that I connected with the things I loved as a kid.”

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