This year’s Cannes Classics section will open with an expansive program that draws from over a century of global cinema. The 2025 edition brings together restored films, retrospectives, and intimate new documentaries while spotlighting influential directors across time, including Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch, and Edward Yang.
Quentin Tarantino returns to the Croisette as guest of honor, with a personal tribute to late American director George Sherman. Known for his extensive catalog of low-budget westerns, Sherman made his mark at Universal Pictures in the 1940s and 1950s, where he directed dozens of action-driven titles across a range of genres. Two of his most prominent westerns, Red Canyon (1949) and Comanche Territory (1950), will screen in Tarantino’s honor. The filmmaker, whose relationship with Cannes spans decades, will discuss Sherman’s legacy in a live conversation with film critic and documentarian Elvis Mitchell.
Tarantino’s presence signals a continuing engagement with the history of popular cinema and its overlooked figures. His 2022 book Cinema Speculation detailed the work of several genre filmmakers, and his selection of Sherman reflects that interest. Both films selected for the tribute were produced during Sherman’s most inventive period, a time when studios pushed volume over prestige and directors developed distinctive techniques under tight constraints.
Another feature drawing attention is Slauson Rec, a documentary by Leo Lewis O’Neil about actor Shia LaBeouf’s experimental acting school in South Central Los Angeles. Beginning in 2018, LaBeouf ran daily workshops at the Slauson Recreation Center, offering free classes to aspiring actors from underrepresented communities. The program, informal and intense, grew into a structured collective known as The Slauson Rec Company.
The documentary, which O’Neil began filming at LaBeouf’s request, captures the rapid evolution of the project, including periods of friction and allegations of inappropriate conduct. The film includes footage of physical outbursts and internal disputes among participants. In a statement provided to Vanity Fair, LaBeouf said he gave the filmmaker complete freedom: “I gave Leo this camera and encouraged him to share his vision and his personal experience without edit… Together we turned a drama class into an acting company.”
The film presents both the promise and tension of a creative process carried out in public, with LaBeouf’s leadership style at its center. Both O’Neil and LaBeouf are expected to attend the screening.
Cannes will also feature a documentary tribute to David Lynch, titled Welcome to Hollywood. Directed by Stéphane Ghez, the film explores recurring images, structural choices, and thematic obsessions across Lynch’s career. From Eraserhead to Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive, the documentary attempts to unpack the patterns behind Lynch’s distinctive approach to character and atmosphere. Riley Lynch, the director’s son, will be present for the screening.
A different kind of personal documentary will arrive in the form of My Mom Jayne, directed by Mariska Hargitay. Known for her long-running role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Hargitay turns to filmmaking to explore the legacy of her mother, 1950s screen siren Jayne Mansfield. Mansfield died in a car crash in 1967, when Hargitay was three. The documentary reconstructs Mansfield’s public and private lives using home videos, interviews with family, and archival materials. Produced by HBO and Mighty Entertainment, the film will debut in Hargitay’s presence.
This year also marks a series of cinematic anniversaries. Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush, which premiered in 1925, will screen on May 13 as the festival’s pre-opening presentation. The film’s 100th anniversary will be recognized with the presence of Arnold Lozano of Roy Export SAS, which manages Chaplin’s estate. The screening is set for the Debussy Theater.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Amores Perros, which launched the director’s international career in 2000, returns for its 25th anniversary. A landmark of early 2000s Mexican cinema, the film presents three interwoven stories set against a backdrop of violence and longing in Mexico City. Iñárritu is expected to attend, marking a return to Cannes, where the film previously won the Semaine de la Critique Grand Prize.
Kevin Smith’s Dogma will also be revived in a celebratory screening under the title Dogma: Resurrected – A 25th Anniversary Celebration!. Originally shown out of competition in 1999, the film’s re-release coincides with Smith’s “Dogma: The Resurrection Tour,” and the Cannes event will include appearances by Smith and director of photography Robert Yeoman.
A newly restored version of Edward Yang’s Yi Yi (2000) will serve as the official opening selection for Cannes Classics. Yang, who died in 2007, was awarded Best Director at Cannes for the film, which follows a middle-class family in Taipei through a series of personal and professional crises. Yang’s partner Kaili Peng, who worked on the film’s score, costumes, and sets, will attend the screening.
John Woo’s Hard Boiled (1992), a hallmark of Hong Kong action cinema, returns to the screen in a restored version presented by Shout! Studios. The film helped define the genre internationally, with its stylized choreography, long takes, and intense pacing. Jordan Fields, senior vice president at Shout!, will represent the restoration in Cannes.
In commemoration of Marcel Pagnol’s influence, a restored print of Merlusse (1935) will screen on the 50th anniversary of the director’s death and the 130th anniversary of his birth. Cannes will also highlight the 70th anniversary of Pagnol’s presidency of the festival jury. His grandson Nicolas Pangol is scheduled to attend.
Filmmaker István Szabó will return to Cannes with a new print of Sunshine (1999), a multi-generational epic tracing a Hungarian Jewish family across the 20th century. The restoration will be presented by Robert Lantos, with Szabó and György Ráduly of Hungary’s National Film Institute in attendance.
The documentary To Vigo I Go, directed by Lírio Ferreira and Karen Harley, reflects on the life and legacy of Brazilian director Carlos Diegues. Built around his final interviews, the film features commentary by his family and collaborators, with music from artists like Chico Buarque and Caetano Veloso. A large contingent of Diegues’ colleagues and relatives will be on hand for the screening.
Vincent Glenn’s Watch What You Say offers a personal narrative framed as a tragicomic road movie, driven by a father and son confronting memory and mortality. The film honors the work of cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn and explores the intersection of film history and autobiography.
Jon Asp and Mattias Nohrborg’s Bo Being Bo Widerberg profiles the Swedish filmmaker who emerged during the 1960s as a counterpoint to Ingmar Bergman. Through archival footage, new interviews, and scenes from his films, the documentary considers the tension between Widerberg’s personal ideals and professional decisions. Actors Thommy Berggren and Pia Degermark, stars of Elvira Madigan, will appear at the festival in connection with the screening.
Among other films in the lineup are I Love Peru by Raphaël Quenard and Hugo David, which follows a comedian on a spiritual odyssey, and T’ang Shushuen’s The Arch (1968), recognized as one of Hong Kong’s early arthouse features directed by a woman. French director Diane Kurys will return with Moi Qui T’Aimais, a new drama revisiting the relationship of Simone Signoret and Yves Montand.
Restored prints from world cinema history also feature prominently. Satyajit Ray’s Days and Nights in the Forest (1970), Mikio Naruse’s Floating Clouds (1955), and Sumitra Peries’ The Girls (1978) are among the titles to receive preservation treatment. Other restored selections include Beyond Oblivion (1955) from Argentina, Stars (1959) from East Germany and Bulgaria, and Chronicle of the Years of Embers (1975) by Algerian filmmaker Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina.
One of the most anticipated restorations is Miloš Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which originally premiered in 1975 and went on to win five Academy Awards. The screening will take place with producer Paul Zaentz in attendance.
Closing the program on May 23 is Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, which will screen in a newly completed 4K restoration. The film, often cited for its use of natural lighting and period detail, rounds out a Cannes Classics lineup that reflects a sweeping view of cinematic memory—personal, political, and formal.
