#FIRSTLOOK” “SUNSHINE” WILL SCREEN AT CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2025

It was announced today that the award-winning film SUNSHINE (2000) will screen at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025 as a Cannes Classics Selection. Academy Award winning director István Szabó will be in attendance with award winning producer Robert Lantos at the special screening. The film recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and stars Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Rosemary Harris, Jennifer Ehle, Molly Parker, Deborah Kara Unger, William Hurt and Mark Strong. SUNSHINE was a Canada / Germany / Hungary co-production. It was recently restored by the NFI (National Film Institute Hungary), under the supervision of cinematographer Lajos Koltai.

SUNSHINE follows three generations of a Hungarian-Jewish family as they navigate anti-Semitism, assimilation, fascism, war, communism and revolution — with Ralph Fiennes playing his own son and grandson across all three eras. Sunshine debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival before going on to play in theatres across the world. It was nominated for three Golden Globes, including Best Picture, won three European Film Awards and Canada’s Genie Award for Best Picture.

“We are survivors of the tragedies of the 20th century in Central Europe, children and grandchildren of the persecuted and persecutors. This is the story of the Sunshine family,” says director István Szabó. “This film also gave me a friend, producer Robert Lantos, who read the script on a long flight and called me on the phone as soon as he landed: ‘We’re going to make this film together.’ I’m delighted that the National Film Institute’s film lab and film archive has restored Sunshine.”
**Quote in Hungarian below.

“In the 1990s, signs of resurgent Jew hatred surfaced throughout the Western World. This is what motivated Oscar winning director István Szabo and I to make a cautionary tale about the events that preceded World War II and paved the way for the Shoah,” says producer Robert Lantos. “For self evident reasons, this screening at Cannes could not be any more timely.”