Guillermo del Toro Says Art Shouldn’t Be Made “With a F*cking App” and Reveals His Two Worst Filming Experiences

Guillermo del Toro’s film Pan’s Labyrinth returned to the Cannes Film Festival this year in a restored 4K version, and it still had a strong emotional impact. The movie originally premiered at Cannes in 2006, where it received a long standing ovation that lasted about 22 minutes.

According to festival coverage and remarks reported from Cannes, the reaction to the restored version was again very positive, with the director receiving applause when he appeared on stage.

Del Toro spoke at the event after the screening and reflected on how difficult the original production had been. He said that making the film was one of the toughest experiences of his career. In his words, “Twenty years ago, making this movie was like going against everything at all times.” This comment was reported from his appearance at the Cannes screening.

He also explained that the film faced many problems from the start, including issues during pre-production, financing, and filming. He described it as a project where many things went wrong at every stage. He said, “It was very difficult in pre-production, no one wanted to finance it, and in production we had everything that could go wrong, go wrong.” These remarks were shared during his Cannes presentation.

Del Toro also compared it to another difficult experience earlier in his career. He said that one of the worst times he ever had while making a film was working on the movie Mimic, which involved production challenges and studio pressure. He said that experience was even harder than Pan’s Labyrinth in some ways.

The director also spoke about how the film’s reception in 2006 was overwhelming for him. He remembered arriving at Cannes with the finished print just in time for the premiere. He described the long applause after the screening as something he was not used to. He said, “It was so weird because, in spite of my great body, I’m not used to adulation. It’s very hard for me to take love.” His comments were shared during the Cannes event.

Del Toro also mentioned a conversation he had with filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón during the festival. He recalled Cuarón telling him to accept the moment and the audience’s reaction, encouraging him to simply take it in.

During his speech, Del Toro also spoke about modern filmmaking and the future of art. He warned about how technology is changing creative work and said that people should not rely too much on digital tools.

He said, “We are facing things so formidable.” He also added, “They tell us everything is useless to resist, that art can be done with a f**ing app.” These remarks were reported from his Cannes appearance and reflect his concerns about technology replacing creative effort.

Despite these concerns, Del Toro ended on a hopeful note. He compared the message of Pan’s Labyrinth to real life, saying that people still have a choice between fear and love. He said, “We can give to love, or we can give to fear. Never, never, never give to fear.”

The restored version of Pan’s Labyrinth was shown as part of the Cannes Classics section. According to festival sources, Del Toro personally supervised the restoration process using the original 35mm film. The re-release showed that even after two decades, the film still connects strongly with audiences and continues to be one of his most celebrated works.

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