The 2026 TCM Classic Film Festival will kick off with Jane Fonda leading a tribute to her late co-star Robert Redford prior to a gala opening-night screening of their 1967 pairing in “Barefoot in the Park,” the festival announced Tuesday.
The announcement said that Fonda introduce an April 30 showing of the Neil Simon-written, Gene Saks-directed romcom as part of an evening at the TCL Chinese that will “recognize both the movie’s lasting charm and Redford’s remarkable career as an actor, filmmaker and cultural force.”
Also announced as special honorees at this year’s festival were Barbara Hershey, songwriter Paul Williams and Bruce Goldstein, who served as founding artistic director of New York’s Film Forum and founded the classics distributor Rialto Pictures.
Hershey is set to appear at showings of two of her late 1980s films, “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “A World Apart.” Williams will speak at screenings of “The Muppet Movie,” which featured his Oscar-nommed “Rainbow Connection,” and Elaine May’s “Ishtar.” Goldstein will receive the annual Robert Osborne Award prior to a screening of the film he selected to be screened at his ceremony, Federico Fellini’s “Nights of Cabiria.”
“Opening night sets the tone for the entire festival, and having Jane Fonda with us to honor her friend and co-star Robert Redford makes this year especially meaningful,” said Ben Mankiewicz, the official host of the festival, in a statement. “‘Barefoot in the Park’ represents a pivotal moment in Hollywood history, and it’s a fitting way to begin our celebration. From the presentation of the Robert Osborne Award and our tributes to remarkable artists across generations, the festival connects today’s audiences to Hollywood’s enduring legacy. This year’s theme, ‘The World Comes to Hollywood,’ reflects the global creativity and ambition that built the film capital of the world and continues to shape it today.”
Fonda, Hershey, Williams and Goldstein are the first guests to be announced for the 2026 festival, which runs from April 30 through May 3. A significant part of the film programming, which takes place in the TCL Chinese and other nearby Hollywood theaters, has already been unveiled on the festival’s website.
The films announced so far:
Ace in the Hole
Alice in Wonderland (75th anniversary world premiere restoration)
Anastasia
Arabesque
Auntie Mame
Barefoot in the Park
The Best Years of Our Lives
Blonde Venus
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Cabin in the Sky
Camille
Confessions of a Nazi Spy
The Day the Earth Stood Still (75th anniversary presentation)
Days of Heaven
A Face in the Crowd
Gaslight
The Magnificent Seven
Man Hunt
Modern Times (90th anniversary presentation)
The Mouthpiece
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
On the Town
Out of the Past
Pal Joey
Phantom Menace
A Place in the Sun (75th anniversary presentation)
Rope
Shane
Stranger on the Third Floor
The Towering Inferno
Vanishing Point
