Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has revealed that making Pan's Labyrinth — the Oscar-winning fantasy film that earned a record-setting 22-minute standing ovation at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival — was the second most gruelling experience of his directorial career. The admission came as del Toro returned to Cannes 2025 to present a new 4K restoration of the film, nearly 20 years after its celebrated world premiere.

What Del Toro Said at Cannes

'Twenty years ago, making this movie was like going against everything at all times,' del Toro said at the festival. He ranked it his second worst filmmaking experience, behind only his 1997 English-language debut Mimic. 'It was the second worst filmmaking experience of my life, the first one being Mimic with the Weinsteins. That was horrible,' he said.

The Shadow of Mimic and the Weinsteins

Mimic, released in 1997, was a sci-fi horror film produced by Bob and Harvey Weinstein under their Miramax banner. Starring Mira Sorvino and Josh Brolin, the film followed genetically engineered insects that evolve into deadly human-sized creatures beneath New York City. Del Toro has long spoken about the creative clashes and studio interference he endured during that production.

At a film festival in 2017, the director was characteristically blunt: 'I really hated the experience. My first American experience was almost my last because it was with the Weinsteins and Miramax.' He went further, drawing a dark comparison: 'Two horrible things happened in the late '90s — my father was kidnapped and I worked with the Weinsteins. I know which one was worse… the kidnapping made more sense, I knew what they wanted.'

The Enduring Legacy of Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth originally debuted in competition at Cannes 2006, where it drew the festival's record-setting standing ovation. Despite the behind-the-scenes turbulence del Toro describes, the film went on to win multiple Academy Awards and is widely regarded as one of the finest fantasy films of the 21st century. The new 4K restoration presented at Cannes 2025 underscores its enduring cultural stature.

What This Reveals About the Creative Process

Del Toro's candour is a reminder that critical and commercial triumph does not always correlate with a filmmaker's experience on set. Notably, both films he cites as his worst experiences — Mimic and Pan's Labyrinth — were made under conditions of significant external pressure, whether from studio interference or resource constraints. The 61-year-old director's willingness to speak openly about creative suffering, even in hindsight, adds a layer of honesty rarely heard on the Cannes circuit.

As the restored Pan's Labyrinth reaches new audiences two decades on, del Toro's reflections are likely to deepen appreciation for what the film ultimately achieved against considerable odds.