Cinema Regained: Re-Writing Film History at IFFR 2026

The daily whale
Nov 23
1 min read

Film history often feels settled. We believe we know the key names, the canonical titles, the “great” films. But with the Cinema Regained section at IFFR 2026, that assumption gets gently disrupted. The International Film Festival Rotterdam has announced that Cinema Regained will return this time shining a light on restored works, archival rediscoveries and films that invite us to rethink what cinema’s past could have been.

What makes Cinema Regained such a compelling part of IFFR’s 2026 edition?

It presents restorations from across the globe from Brazil to Mexico to the Czech Republic which means audiences can experience rare or previously neglected films with fresh eyes.
It’s not just about watching old films: the programme “opens up new ways of reading the past”, suggesting that our film-history narratives are still evolving.
For cinephiles who relish the tangents, the corners, the lost films and overlooked artists, Cinema Regained feels like a treasure trove.

If you’re someone who loves to dig into film history, who wonders about what lies beneath the mainstream, then this part of IFFR 2026 is not to be missed.

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