News

Cannes Classics 2022

5/2/2022 5:25:00 PM

Jean Eustache’s The Mother and the Whore as grand opening to Cannes Classics, two episodes of Ethan Hawke’s event series on Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, a tribute to Gérard Philipe, Patrick Dewaere being gone for 40 years, one last conversation with Jean- Claude Carrière, the Cinemateca Brasileira and Glauber Rocha, Pilipino director Mike De Leon, Arrabal the poet, a Czech new wave masterpiece, a close-up on Romy Schneider, one last goodbye to Fernando Solanas, a salute to Souleyman Cissé from his daughter. 

There will also be India as Country of Honor, The Film Foundation and the World Cinema Project, an homage to Indian Cinema, the 70th anniversary of Singin’ In The Rain, Orson Welles and Kafka, a continuation of Vittorio movie restorations, De Sicca and Duvivier’s timeless classics, Robbie Robertson’s The Band for their last show. And a last a double Olympic feature with the official film of the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 directed by 8 directors from the whole world and the one presented as world premiere of the Olympic Games in Tokyo directed by Naomi Kawase.

This is Cannes Classics 2022.

 

The Mother and the Whore back in the theater!
50 years after it began filming, The Mother and the Whore’s rerelease World Premier will happen May the 17th at 2 pm in Salle Debussy, in the presence of François Lebrun, Jean-Pierre Léaud and Boris Eustache. Winner of the Grand Prix du Jury presided by actress Ingrid Bergmann in 1973 and winner of the Prix de la Critique, this movie caused riots at the time. Rarely seen, The Mother and the Whore will once again grace French theaters June 8th, before the rerelease of Jean Eustache’s entire body of work, slated in 2023.

La Maman et la putain (The Mother and the Whore)
Jean Eustache
1972, 3h40, France
4K digital restoration of The Mother and the Whore was done in 2022 by Les Films du
Losange, with backing from the CNC and participation from the Cinémathèque Suisse. Image
restoration was done by Immagine Ritrovata Laboratories, supervised by Jacques Besse and
Boris Eustache. Sound restoration was provided by Léon Rousseau of L.E. Diapason.
Screening in the presence of Françoise Lebrun, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Boris Eustache


India as Country of Honor
Right as the Marché du Film chose India as country of honor this year, a brand new
restoration of Indian director, writer Satyajit Ray’s rare movie Pratidwandi will be presented
an exclusive screening. Present at the Festival de Cannes since 1956 with Pather panchali,
Satyajit Ray will have left his mark on the world of cinema with his great body of work.

Pratidwandi (The Adversary)
Satyajit Ray
1970, 1h49, India
Presented by NFDC - National Film Archive of India, the film is restored under National Film
Heritage Mission, a project undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,
Government of India. The original 35mm Camera Negative, which was scanned in 4K on
ARRISCAN XT, and the original 35mm Sound Negative were provided by producer Ms.
Purnima Dutta for this restoration. Few portions of the negative were damaged and were
instead scanned from a 35mm Release Print. The restoration was carried out by Prime Focus
Technologies, Mumbai, and grading was supervised by renowned Indian cinematographer,
Sudeep Chatterjee.


Singin’ in the Rain’s 70th anniversary
Just in time for the 70th anniversary of Singin’ In The Rain, this iconic movie will be presented
in a brand new 4K restoration. An homage to musicals, ode to the art of filmmaking and love
letter to human creation, this monument of American cinema detailing the transition from
silent film to talkies will be screening on the Croisette.


Singin' in the Rain
Gene Kelly et Stanley Donen
1952, 1h43, États-Unis
A Warner Bros. presentation. The new 4K master has been created by meticulously aligning
the 3 separate masters obtained from the original Technicolor negatives. Warner Bros.
Imaging carefully scanned each of the black and white “recordings” representing the primary
colors Red, Green and Blue. The results present the phenomenal Technicolor photography as
it has never been seen before.
This is a great leap forward from previous remasters: For the movie’s 50th anniversary, in
2002, Warner Bros. exclusive Ultra-Resolution technology had been used to realign the
separation masters, which was at the time a great stride forward. In 2012, for the 60th
anniversary, the process was improved greatly with the Blu-Ray release.
Now, for the 70th anniversary, the use of cutting-edge image-realignment and image separation
technology is a remarkable step forward, with results that look even-more brand
new than the initial release. Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging used the transfer of the
original archived Technicolor dyes as reference for the new master’s color grading, creating
even better image resolution with the use of HDR, making the color palette more vibrant
than it’s ever been. For the audio, the new 4K copy offers the audience a new 5.1 mix derived
from the original MGM tapes produced during the making of the movie and the best audio
technology to offer an even clearer soundtrack than that of the original.


Restoration World Premieres

Sciuscià
Vittorio de Sica
1946, 1h33, Italy
Presented by The Film Foundation and Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna. Restored in 4K by
The Film Foundation and Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata in
association with Orium S.A. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.

Thamp (The Circus Tent)
Aravindan Govindan
1978, 2h09, India
A presentation of Film Heritage Foundation, India. Restored by Film Heritage Foundation,
Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, Cineteca di Bologna at Prasad Corporation Pvt. Ltd.'s
Post - Studios, Chennai, and L’Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory, and in association with General
Pictures, National Film Archive of India and the family of Aravindan Govindan. Funding
provided by Prasad Corporation Pvt. Ltd. and Film Heritage Foundation.

The Trial
Orson Welles
1962, 2h, France / Germany / Italy
This restoration was produced in 2022 by STUDIO CANAL and the Cinémathèque Française.
The image and sound restoration were done at the Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory (Paris-
Bologne), using the original 35mm negative. This project was supervised by STUDIO CANAL,
Sophie Boyer and Jean-Pierre Boiget. The restoration was funded thanks to the patronage
Chanel.

If I Were a Spy…
Bertrand Blier
1967, 1h34, France
Presented by Pathé. 4k restoration, done scanning the original negative film. A project
undertaken by the Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory (Paris-Bologne). Restoration funded by the
Centre national du cinema et de l’image animée (CNC).

Poil de Carotte
Julien Duvivier
1932, 1h31, France
A TF1 presentation. New 4K restoration done by TF1 studios, with the backing of CNC, using
the original nitrate negative and a combined dupe negative on non-flammable film. Digital
and photochemical work done in 2021 by the Hiventy laboratory.

The Last Waltz
Martin Scorsese
1978, 1h57, USA
MGM Studios’ THE LAST WALTZ (1978) is presented by Park Circus thanks to a new 4K digital
restoration from the Criterion Collection, approved by director Martin Scorsese. Presented in
its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, this new 4K digital restoration of THE LAST WALTZ was
created from a scan of the 35mm original camera negative made in 16-bit 4K resolution on a
Lasergraphics Director Film scanner at Roundabout Entertainment in Burbank, California. A
35mm print courtesy of Sikelia Productions was used as a color reference. The 5.1 surround
soundtrack was remixed from the original two-inch 24-track magnetic masters in 2001 by Ted
Hall at POP Sound in Santa Monica, California, under the supervision of Robbie Robertson.
Stereo mixes and stems made by Robertson’s mixer Dan Gellert and approved by Robertson
were used in the creation of the 5.1 surround mix.

Itim
Mike De Leon
1976, 1h45, Philippines
A Mike De Leon presentation, distributed in France by Carlotta Films. Restoration done using
the original 35mm negative and optical soundtrack, stored at the British Film Institute. The
negative, scanned in 4K, benefited from a 2K digital restoration done at the Immagine
Ritrovata Laboratory, Bologna. Color grading was supervised by the director, Mike De Leon
and his co-director of photography, Rody Laccap. This presentation is a preview of the French
release of Mike De Leon’s entire restored body of work, slated 2022-2023.

Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol
Glauber Rocha
1964, 2h, Brazil
Presented by Metropoles.com and Paloma Cinematográfica. Restored from the original 35mm
negative preserved at Cinemateca Brasileira and with a brand new 4K restoration by Estudios
Cinecolor and Estudios JLS, Cinematographer Luis Abramo/Rogerio Moraes and with the
supervision of Rodrigo Mercês.

Sedmikrásky (Daisies)
Vera Chytilová
1966, 1h14, Czech Republic
Digital restoration of this film funded by the donation of Mrs. Milada Kučerová and Mr.
Eduard Kučera was carried out by Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in collaboration
with the Národní filmový archiv, Prague and the Czech Film Fund in UPP and Soundsquare.
The sources for the digitization were the original image negative, the original sound negative
and original magnetic mixing tapes. Film materials are preserved by the Národní filmový
archiv, Prague. The restoration was done in 2022. Release in French theaters by Malavida.

Viva la muerte
Fernando Arrabal
1971, 1h30, France / Tunisia
Viva la Muerte! was scanned and restored in 4K by the Cinémathèque de Toulouse using the
original 35mm image negative, the original 35mm sound negative of the French version, and
a 35mm interpositive element containing the end credits missing from the original negative.
The image digitization and restoration were done by the Cinémathèque de Toulouse
laboratory, in collaboration with Fernando Arrabal.
The sound digitization and restoration were done by the L.E. Diapason studio.
The restoration was finished in 2022.
This restoration was made possible thanks to the unfailing support of Fernand Arrabal, the
Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Tunisia, Mohamed Challouf (Ciné-Sud Patrimoine Association)
and Mr. Samir Zgaya (Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Tunisia).


Documentaries

JOANNE WOODWARD & PAUL NEWMAN BY ETHAN HAWKE
The Last Movie Stars
Ethan Hawke, episodes 3 and 4
1h47, USA
Actor, director and producer Ethan Hawke and executive producer Martin Scorsese explore
the lives and careers of actors Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, in a captivating,
intellectual, and moving documentary. This carefully crafted film, featuring Karen Allen,
George Clooney, Oscar Isaac, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Zoe Kazan, Laura Linney and Sam
Rockwell, among others who voice interviews of Elia Kazan, Sydney Pollock, Paul Newman,
Jacqueline Witte, and more in an incredible exploration of the iconic couple and American
cinema. It is revealed in six chapters, two of which will be screened in the presence of Ethan
Hawke.
Presented by Nook House Productions, Under the Influence Productions, CNN Films, and
HBOMax.
Screening in the presence of Ethan Hawke and Clea Newman Soderlund

Romy, A Free Woman

written by Lucie Cariès and Clémentine Déroudille, directed by Lucie Cariès
1h31, France
Romy Schneider has been En Compétition ever since 1957 with Sissi, before coming back to
the Croisette multiple times, notably for Claude Sautet’s Les Choses de la vie. This exceptional
documentary recounts her illustrious career with passion and dedication. A Zadig Productions
production, in association with Diaphana Films and with the participation of France
Télévisions.
Screening in the presence of Lucie Cariès and Clémentine Deroudille

Jane Campion, Cinema Woman

Julie Bertuccelli
1h38, France
Director Julie Bertuccelli paints Jane Campion’s portrait with great precision, humor and
admiration, telling the tale of the first-ever woman to win the Palme d’Or in 1993. A Les Films
du Poisson production, co-produced by ARTE France.
Screening in the presence of Julie Bertuccelli.

Gérard Philipe, le dernier hiver du Cid
Patrick Jeudy
1h06, France
An adaptation of Jérôme Garcin’s novel Le dernier hiver du cid, this documentary built
exclusively on archive footage and a delicate story telling style will permit a Cannes style
celebration of Gerard Philipe’s 100th birthday anniversary. He will also be coming back to the
Croisette through the screening of Fanfan la tulipe. Produced by Temps Noir, with the
participation of France Télévisions and the backing of the CNC and the PROCIRED.
Screening in the presence of Patrick Jeudy, Jérôme Garcin and Anne-Marie Philipe.

Patrick Dewaere, mon héros (Patrick Dewaere, My Hero)
Alexandre Moix
1h30, France
The actress Lola Dewaere recounts the film career and traumatic life of celebrated actor
Patrick Dewaere, the father she never knew, under the watchful eye of director Alexandre
Moix. A Zoom Production and Bleu Kobalt coproduction, with the participation of France
Télévisions, the RTS, and the RTBF, with Studiocanal.
Screening in the presence of Alexandre Moix and Lola Dewaere.

Hommage d’une fille à son père
Fatou Cissé
1h11, Mali
Fatou Cissé accompanies her father, malien director Souleymane Cissé, through a trip down
his film career, painting an intimate and poetic picture of one of Africa’s most celebrated
actors. A les films Cisse/Sise filimu production.
Screening in the presence of Fatou Cissé and Souleymane Cissé.

L’Ombre de Goya par Jean-Claude Carrière
José Luis Lopez-Linares
1h30, France / Spain / Portugal
It is with great emotion that we rediscover the magical language of the late screenwriter Jean-
Claude Carrière, as he researches the painter Goya. An incredible trip through culture,
emotion, cinema, painting and Spain. A French-Hispanic-Portugese coproduction: Mondex et
Cie/Lopezlifilms/Zampa Audiovisual/Fado Filmes. With backing from Eurimages, CINÉ+, the
Amis du Louvre, RTVE, the ICAA and RTP. International sales: RESERVOIR DOCS.
Screening in the presence of José Luis Lopez Linares.

Tres en la deriva del acto creativo (Three in the Drift of the Creative Act)

Fernando Solanas
1h36, Argentina
Last homage to the great director Fernando Solanas, dear to our hearts, who came multiple
times in Competition to the Festival and two times to Cannes Classics. Through this
documentary rich in sensibility and visual flair aided by stunning graphics, “Pino” Solanas
evokes creation. ACinesur s.a. production, with the backing of the INCAA (Instituto Nacional
de CIne y Artes Audiovisuales).
Screening in the presence of Victoria and Juan Solanas, and Gaspar Noé

Finally, the Festival de Cannes will host a double screening to celebrate the film work of the
International Olympic Committee. Indeed, since the first Games were filmed by the cinema,
the IOC has never ceased to encourage filmmakers to film sport until deciding to produce
official films. In 2020, the year when the Tokyo Games were postponed, then in 2021, it was
the Japanese filmmaker who was in charge of directing which film will be presented in
preview. To accompany this presentation and salute this initiative which will also continue for
the Paris 2024 Games, Cannes Classics will screen the official film of the Munich 1972
Olympic Games, Visions of Eight, which brings together Miloš Forman, Youri Ozerov, Claude
Lelouch, Mai Zetterling, Michael Pfleghar, Kon Ichikawa, Arthur Penn, John Schlesinger.

Official Film of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Side A
Naomi Kawase
1h59
Japanese director Naomi Kawase directed the official film of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
with her style and all her subtlety. A strong work on sport, Japan and the union of nations. A
real message that goes beyond the physical exploit to mark souls. To discover absolutely on
the big screen in Cannes to be swept away by its beauty. An IOC, TOCOG, and KINOSHITA
GROUP production.
Naomi Kawase in attendance.

Visions of Eight

Miloš Forman, Youri Ozerov, Claude Lelouch, Mai Zetterling, Michael Pfleghar, Kon Ichikawa,
Arthur Penn, John Schlesinger
1973, 1h49, Allemagne / États-Unis
Back at Cannes, this incredible project, which had its world premiere at the Festival in 1973, 
was shot by directors who each filmed different sports with their own eye. The film
impressed with its ambition, its power and dynamism, each filmmaker having chosen a sport.
For example Miloš Forman, the decathlon, Kon Ichikawa, the 100 meters, John Schlesinger, 
the marathon, Mai Zetterling, the strongest athletes as well as Claude Lelouch the camera of
whom lingers on the losers.
A must-see again in 2023, 50 years later.
Claude Lelouch in attendance.

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MARTIN SCORSESE’S THE FILM FOUNDATION LAUNCHES “RESTORATION SCREENING ROOM”

4/22/2022 4:00:00 PM

[April 22 / NY, NY] The Film Foundation, the non-profit organization created in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, is launching The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room to showcase films restored with support from the foundation and its partners. The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room will be available free of charge, starting on Monday, May 9th, with additional feature presentations debuting on the second Monday of each month. The first presentation will be I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (1945, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger), restored by The Film Foundation and BFI National Archive, in association with ITV and Park Circus available for a 24 hour window.

Viewers will experience the excitement of a live event, with introductions and conversations with filmmakers and archivists, providing an inside look at the restoration process. The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room will be “appointment viewing,” with screenings starting at a set time, and available for a limited period, distinguishing it from other streaming options. The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room will celebrate the collaborative nature of film preservation by highlighting the work of archives and studios.

“We’re looking forward to making these beautiful restorations available to a wide audience,” said Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation founder and chair. “Many of these presentations will feature restorations that are rarely seen, with myself and other filmmakers sharing why these films are important, how they have impacted our lives, and why it’s crucial that they be preserved.”

“We’re grateful to Oracle and DelphiQuest for making this possible, and we’re thrilled to share these restorations with new audiences,” said Margaret Bodde, the Executive Director of The Film Foundation. “The Restoration Screening Room aligns perfectly with the foundation’s mission, and we’re eager to connect with people around the world who love cinema.”

The screening of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! on May 9th is co-presented by the BFI National Archive, Janus Films, ITV and Park Circus. This restoration of the classic romance, which received its world premiere at Cannes Classics last year and UK Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival last October, was selected by Martin Scorsese and Kent Jones, who are co-curating the Restoration Screening Room. I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! will be introduced by Scorsese, and include interviews with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, Joanna Hogg, Tilda Swinton, and Kevin Macdonald; all of whom count the film among their favorites. Restoration funding for I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! was provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation with additional support provided by Matt Spick.

The Film Foundation is partnering with Oracle and DelphiQuest to create and power the platform, which will be available online at film-foundation.org/restoration-screening-room. The programming will showcase a broad range of restorations, including classic, avant-garde, independent, documentary, silent and short films from every era, genre, and region of the world. Upcoming monthly presentations include LA STRADA (1954, d. Federico Fellini), KUMMATTY (India, 1979, d. G. Aravindan), a film noir double feature of DETOUR (1945, d. Edgar G. Ulmer) and THE CHASE (1946, d. Arthur D. Ripley), SAMBIZANGA (Angola, 1972, d. Sarah Maldoror), ONE-EYED JACKS (1961, d. Marlon Brando), MOULIN ROUGE (1952, d. John Huston), LOST LOST LOST (1976, d. Jonas Mekas), and others to be announced.


About The Film Foundation: 
The Film Foundation is a nonprofit organization created by Martin Scorsese in 1990 to protect and preserve motion picture history. By working in partnership with archives and studios, the foundation has helped to restore over 925 films, which are made accessible to the public through programming at festivals, museums, and educational institutions world-wide. The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project has restored 47 films from 27 countries to date, representing the rich diversity of cinema from around the globe. The foundation's free educational curriculum, The Story of Movies, teaches young people - over 10 million to date - about film language and history.
https://www.film-foundation.org
Twitter: @Film_Foundation
Instagram: @thefilmfoundation_official
 

About the BFI:
We are a cultural charity, a National Lottery distributor, and the UK’s lead organisation for film and the moving image.
Our mission is:
● To support creativity and actively seek out the next generation of UK storytellers
● To grow and care for the BFI National Archive, the world’s largest film and television archive
● To offer the widest range of UK and international moving image culture through our programmes and festivals - delivered online and in venue
● To use our knowledge to educate and deepen public appreciation and understanding of film and the moving image
● To work with Government and industry to ensure the continued growth of the UK’s screen industries

Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter. The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Tim Richards.

 

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NOTES ON FILM & RESTORATION

4/22/2022 12:00:00 PM

Before the outbreak of WWII, George Stevens had already developed into a great filmmaker, a comic master with a lyrical visual sense and an extraordinary sensitivity to changing moods within relationships, one shading into or delicately layering over the next. During the war, Stevens led a Signal Corps film unit through enormous swaths of the European theater—they were present at D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge and the liberation of Dachau. In 1974, when Joseph McBride and Patrick McGilligan asked Stevens how he thought his experience of the war had affected his films, he answered: “It causes a most profound adjustment in your thinking. I don’t suppose I was ever too hilarious again.” He was, after the war, on every possible level, a different kind of filmmaker.

Stevens did indeed set aside humor, but his sensitivity to human affairs only deepened. He shifted to an epic canvas, partly as a way of adapting to changing conditions in Hollywood and the “threat” of television, but more importantly because it afforded him a kind of double perspective. In A Place in the Sun, Shane and Giant, Stevens chose narratives in which contentment and melancholy, fulfillment and tragedy, freedom and entrenched exploitation, abundance of space and human immediacy, communal cooperation and the violent exercise of power always go hand in hand, one always shadowing the other. The many dramatic shifts in scale in those films and the frequent use of the optically-achieved long dissolve as a transitional device embody Stevens’ wider perspective on ever-changing reality. At the level of artistry, spectacle and emotional and thematic complexity, Giant is a peak moment in American cinema.

In 1995, Giant had its first photo-chemical restoration. A vastly improved digital restoration led to the creation of an HD master in 2013. In the decade since, technological developments have led to vastly expanding possibilities in film restoration, which have made the glorious, painstakingly achieved 4K restoration done by Daphne Dentz and Bob Bailey and their team at Warner Bros. possible (the restoration was supported by The Film Foundation and Turner Classic Movies). The restoration will have its big screen premiere tonight as a highlight of the TCM Film Festival (happily in person once again after two years in virtual limbo). Appropriately, the screening will take place on one of the biggest screens left in the country, the TCL Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

“We actually over-sample,” said Bailey when I talked with him and Dentz the other day. “We scan on a device that does 6K scanning, 16-bit. We did that to the YCMs (yellow, cyan and magenta separation masters) and the OCN (original camera negative)—which has faded, so we recombined the blue layer for the entire project. Some of the fading in the OCN was so bad that we had to put in the YCM. We did that literally cut to cut. And we were working on opticals for days at a time to make sure that everything was cleaned to a pristine level that you’ve never seen before. There was a lot of movement in opticals in those days, and a natural weave in the film just going through the camera, so now we can stabilize everything. We lock that down.”

The other thing to add,” said Dentz, “is the improvements in the actual tools themselves—Baselight has improved greatly in the management of grain, and we also use Neat, another grain management tool that is able to, on a frame-by-frame basis, manipulate and remove grain in some sections and then add it back and blend it in. So that's happening as well throughout the film. But there's a lot of that work happening on the opticals, which is why I think they look so good.”

“Our goal,” added Bailey, “is to have the exact same experience you would at the movie theatre if you saw the first print ever released. That's our goal.”

“We're purists,” said Dentz, “so we don't want to change the image, the look of the image, the feel of the image. There's a constant dialogue around what to do on every  title—with the colorists, with the scan artists, in this case with Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, and, of course, with George Stevens, Jr.”

I can only repeat what I’ve said before about other figures in the world of restoration: if you love film, whether you know it or not, Daphne and Bob are among your heroes.

- Kent Jones

Follow us on Instagram, and Twitter!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNVWeLF0z6g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5yPBdYmCdc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLr1jeHeGWQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwy8SzVmWGc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_XtAHAhczM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE7qd4VdzDw

 

GIANT (1956, d. George Stevens)
Restored by Warner Bros. in collaboration with The Film Foundation. Special thanks to George Stevens Jr., Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg.

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Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation Launches Free Virtual Screening Room for Restorations

Ryan Lattanzio

4/22/2022 7:00:00 AM

Martin Scorsese’s nonprofit The Film Foundation is officially launching a free virtual screening room to showcase film restorations. The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room, which will showcase both foundation restorations as well as those from partners, will launch on Monday, May 9, with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1945 romantic comedy “I Know Where I’m Going!” starring Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey. The restoration was overseen by The Film Foundation and BFI National Archive, in association with ITV and Park Circus.

The film and subsequent titles will be available for a 24-hour window and will feature introductions and conversations with filmmakers and archivists, providing an inside look at the restoration process. The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room will offer “appointment viewing,” with screenings starting at a set time and available for a limited period, which is unlike other classic streaming options.

The restoration of “I Know Where I’m Going,” which received its world premiere at Cannes Classics last year and U.K. Ppemiere at the BFI London Film Festival last October, was selected by Martin Scorsese and Kent Jones, who serve as co-curators of the Restoration Screening Room. The film will be introduced by Scorsese, and include interviews with Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, “The Souvenir” director Joanna Hogg, Tilda Swinton, and Kevin Macdonald, all of whom count the film among their favorites. The screening is co-presented by Janus Films.

“We’re looking forward to making these beautiful restorations available to a wide audience,” said Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation’s founder and chair. “Many of these presentations will feature restorations that are rarely seen, with myself and other filmmakers sharing why these films are important, how they have impacted our lives, and why it’s crucial that they be preserved.”

On the streaming side, The Film Foundation currently hosts many of its titles over at the Criterion Channel. Restorations on the streaming platform include “The Broken Butterfly,” “The Red Shoes,” “How Green Was My Falley,” “Ugetsu,” “La Strada,” “Wanda,” and “Mysterious Object at Noon.”

Restoration funding for “I Know Where I’m Going” was provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation with additional support provided by Matt Spick.

The Film Foundation is partnering with Oracle and DelphiQuest to create and power the platform, which will be available online at film-foundation.org/restoration-screening-room. The programming will showcase a broad range of restorations, including classic, avant-garde, independent, documentary, silent and short films from every era, genre, and region of the world. Upcoming monthly presentations include “La Strada,” “Kummatty,” “Detour” and “The Chase,” “Sambizanga,” “One-Eyed Jacks,” “Moulin Rouge” (1952), “Lost Lost Lost,” and more.

 

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