Cinema Rediscovered | classic gems shine in anniversary
General public bookings are now open for the 10th birthday edition of Cinema Rediscovered – the UK’s leading celebration of newly-restored films, forgotten gems and classic revivals taking place in and around Bristol UNESCO City of Film from 22 to 26 July 2026.
Ambitious
Unveiling this year’s 70+ event, premieres-rich, line-up, festival founder Mark Cosgrove said: “As befits a milestone event, the latest Cinema Rediscovered will be our most ambitious to date, featuring more than 50 screenings, many of them new restorations never shown before in a UK cinema – with 17 premieres – and some very special guests joining us live or remotely, including Aardman’s co-founders; Peter Gabriel, Alice Lowe, Pamela Hutchinson, Mike Figgis, Charles Burnett, Joe Dante and Edgar Wright.
Talks, walks, workshops, tours
“There’s also an unprecedented range of activity beyond the films; among them talks, walks, craft and improv workshops, projection box tours, a BFI National Archive pop-up exhibition, a murder mystery game and many other starting points for lively conversations.”
Highlights
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Director Edgar Wright video-introducing the UK premiere of a new 4K restoration of Mario Bava’s high-octane and influential pop-art masterpiece Danger: Diabolik (1968) and launching a Comics Come Alive strand showcasing five other live action screen adaptations of comic books
A trio of events marking Bristol-based Aardman’s 50th anniversary, providing a rare chance to see early work by Nick Park on a big screen; delve into Morph’s story and explore why the music video for Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer made history.
A Rogue Hollywood strand exploring the dark side of 1970s USA, including a 50th anniversary screening of Elaine May’s neglected gem Mikey and Nicky; Paul Schrader’s Hardcore; Scorsese’s Cannes Palme d’Or winning Taxi Driver and Looking for Mr. Goodbar with a stand-out performance from Diane Keaton presented on 35mm.
A multitude of new restoration premieres & first-chance-to-see-in-UK screenings including the world premiere of John Schlesinger’s Billy Liar (1963) hosted by Alice Lowe; Claude Chabrol’s masterful thriller Le Boucher (1970) and his influential 1969 film La Femme infidèle (which inspired Zvyagintsev’s Cannes 2026 Grand Prix winner Minotaur) both unavailable to see in UK cinemas for many years; a reconstruction of Erich von Stroheim’s lost 1929 silent masterpiece Queen Kelly presented by critic, film historian author of The Curse of Queen Kelly Pamela Hutchinson; Arundhati Roy’s debut screenplay In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones (1989) which captures 1970s student rebellion in New Delhi and two films illustrating why Steve Buscemi is such a legend of American indie cinema.
To celebrate the festival’s birthday, festival founder Mark Cosgrove presents three of his personal favourites revolving around the power of the cinema: Closed Circuit, Matinee and Goodbye, Dragon Inn.
In a nod to the festival’s inaugural edition in 2016, the festival replays two Tarkovsky films; Nostalgia and The Sacrifice, now newly restored via Curzon Film and also marking the distribution company’s 50th anniversary.
The festival launches a UK and Ireland wide touring programme of highlights in August, also supported by the BFI Audience Projects Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.
To stay up to date with festival news, find Cinema Rediscovered on Facebook, Instagram, Letterboxd or Bluesky; keep a watch on watershed.co.uk/cinema-rediscovered or sign up for the free e-newsletter.
Cinema Rediscovered 2026 is a Watershed presentation in association with Bristol-based independent brewery Wiper and True and made possible thanks to the support of the BFI Audience Projects Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, and principal sponsors Park Circus and STUDIOCANAL. Find out more about principal sponsors and funders, see here.
Tickets for individual events start at £12 (£9.50, concessions; £6.50, 24 and under) plus 12% booking fee (online and phone booking only.) A 15% discount applies to tickets/ passes for members of Watershed’s Club Shed scheme OR when four to 10 events are booked at the same time. For further savings, festival passes are available for £130 (£75 concessions, £80 aged 24 and under). To book, contact the Watershed box office, 1 Canons Road, Bristol, BS1 5TX; telephone 0117 927 5100 or via www.watershed.co.uk
top image: In The Soup
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