World Cinema Project

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The World Cinema Project (WCP), formerly World Cinema Foundation, is a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation and restoration of neglected world cinema, founded by Martin Scorsese.

Contents

History

Founded in 2007 as the World Cinema Foundation by American filmmaker Martin Scorsese, [1] it was inspired by the work of The Film Foundation in the United States, a similar venture which Scorsese founded with George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood in 1990.

Trances , a music documentary about Nass El Ghiwane an influential Moroccan music group, was picked by Martin Scorsese as the inaugural release for the foundation; it was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007 and at Djemaa el-Fna square in Morocco. [2]

Description and governance

The World Cinema Foundation is backed by an advisory board "Filmmaker Council", originally including Martin Scorsese, Fatih Akin, Souleymane Cissé, Guillermo del Toro, Stephen Frears, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Wong Kar-Wai, Abbas Kiarostami, Deepa Mehta, Ermanno Olmi, Raoul Peck, Cristi Puiu, Walter Salles, Abderrahmane Sissako, Elia Suleiman, Bertrand Tavernier, Wim Wenders, and Tian Zhuangzhuang. [3]

After leaving his position at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Kent Jones became the foundation's executive director.[ when? ][ citation needed ]

List of restored films

1930s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production country
1931 Limite Mário Peixoto Brazil [4] [5] [A 1]
1934The Phantom of the Monastery El fantasma del convento Fernando de Fuentes Mexico
Two Monks Dos monjes Juan Bustillo Oro Mexico [A 2]
1936 Redes Emilio Gómez Muriel and Fred Zinnemann Mexico [6] [A 3]
1939 Two Girls on the Street Két lány az utcán Andre de Toth Hungary [A 4]
Prisoners of the Earth Prisioneros de la tierra Mario Soffici Argentina [A 4]

1940s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production country
1946 Enamorada Emilio Fernández Mexico
1948 Kalpana Uday Shankar India [A 4]

1950s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production country
1950The Forgotten Ones Los Olvidados Luis Buñuel Mexico
1953 Él Luis Buñuel Mexico
1954 After the Curfew Lewat Djam Malam Usmar Ismail Indonesia [A 2]

1960s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production country
1960 The Cloud-Capped Star মেঘে ঢাকা তারা Ritwik Ghatak India
The Housemaid 하녀 Kim Ki-young South Korea [7] [A 3]
Macario Roberto Gavaldón Mexico
1963 Borom Sarret Le Charretier Ousmane Sembène Senegal [8]
1964 Dry Summer Susuz Yaz Metin Erksan Turkey [9] [A 3]
1966 Black Girl La noire de... Ousmane Sembène Senegal, France [8] [11] [12]
Law of the Border Hudutların Kanunu Lütfi Ömer Akad Turkey [A 1]
Raid into Tibet Adrian Cowell United Kingdom
1968 Lucía Humberto Solás Cuba [A 2]
Memories of Underdevelopment Memorias del Subdesarrollo Tomás Gutiérrez Alea Cuba [13]
1969 The Color of Pomegranates Նռան գույնը Sergei Parajanov Soviet Union
Contras'city Djibril Diop Mambéty Senegal
The Eloquent Peasant الفلاح الفصيح Shadi Abdel Salam Egypt [8]
The Night of Counting the Years المومياء Shadi Abdel Salam Egypt [8]
The Woman with the Knife La femme au couteau Timité Bassori Côte d'Ivoire

1970s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production country
1970 Badou Boy Djibril Diop Mambéty Senegal
Soleil Ô Med Hondo Mauritania, France [14] [A 2]
The Treasure Nidhanaya Lester James Peries Sri Lanka
1972 Downpour رگبار Bahram Beyzai Iran [A 2]
Eight Deadly Shots Kahdeksan surmanluotia Mikko Niskanen Finland
Sambizanga Sarah Maldoror Angola, France, Congo [A 4]
1973 The Dupes المخدوعون Tewfik Saleh Syria
A River Called Titas Titash Ekti Nadir Naam Ritwik Ghatak India, Bangladesh [A 3]
Touki Bouki Djibril Diop Mambéty Senegal [16] [17] [A 3]
1974 The Stranger and the Fog غریبه و مه Bahram Beyzai Iran
1975 Chronicle of the Years of Fire وقائع سنين الجمر Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina Algeria
Manila in the Claws of Light Maynila, sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag Lino Brocka Philippines
Muna Moto Jean-Pierre Dikongué Pipa Cameroon [A 4]
1976 Chess of the Wind شطرنج باد Mohammad Reza Aslani Iran [18] [A 4]
Insiang Lino Brocka Philippines [A 1]
1978 Alyam, Alyam Alyam Alyam O les jours Ahmed El Maanouni Morocco
Thampu G. Aravindan India
1979 Kummatty കുമ്മാട്ടി G. Aravindan India

1980s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production country
1980 Pixote Héctor Babenco Brazil [A 2]
1981 Trances الحال Ahmed El Maanouni Morocco [21] [A 3]
1983 The Boys from Fengkuei 風櫃來的人 Hou Hsiao-hsien Taiwan
1985 Taipei Story 青梅竹馬 Edward Yang Taiwan [A 1]
1986The Choice Yam Daabo Idrissa Ouédraogo Burkina Faso, France
1988 Camp de Thiaroye Ousmane Sembène and Thierno Faty Sow Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia [22]
1989 Revenge Месть Ermek Shinarbaev Soviet Union [23] [A 1]

1990s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production country
1990Lumumba: Death of a Prophet Lumumba, la mort d'un prophète Raoul Peck Democratic Republic of the Congo
1991 A Brighter Summer Day 牯嶺街少年殺人事件 Edward Yang Taiwan [24]
1997 Xiao Wu 小武 Jia Zhangke China

2000s

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production country
2000 Mysterious Object at Noon ดอกฟ้าในมือมาร Apichatpong Weerasethakul Thailand [A 1]

Upcoming restorations

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production Country
1967 The Winds of the Aures ريح الاوراس Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina Algeria
1985 Faces of Women Visages de femmes Desiré Ecaré [ citation needed ]Côte d'Ivoire

References

  1. ↑ DVD Savant Blu-ray + DVD Review: Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project
  2. ↑ Official Film Foundation site
  3. ↑ World Cinema Foundation
  4. ↑ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
  5. ↑ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, Ghost World and The Last Word: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Picks|Filmmaker Magazine
  6. ↑ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
  7. ↑ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
  8. 1 2 3 4 Page, Thomas (November 10, 2017). "Martin Scorsese's mission to save lost cinema | CNN". CNN. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating". AV Club. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project". The Criterion Collection.
  11. ↑ Peregoy, Colton (September 22, 2020). "10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project". Taste of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  12. ↑ Partnership with the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers to restore African cinema|UNESCO
  13. ↑ Peregoy, Colton (September 22, 2020). "10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project". Taste of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  14. ↑ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
  15. ↑ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 4". The Criterion Collection.
  16. ↑ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
  17. ↑ The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema|Movies|Empire
  18. ↑ "The Chess Game of the Wind". Film at Lincoln Center. Film at Lincoln Center, Inc. September 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020. Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project.
  19. ↑ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 2". The Criterion Collection.
  20. ↑ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 3". The Criterion Collection.
  21. ↑ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
  22. ↑ "Cannes Classics 2024". Festival de Cannes. April 25, 2024. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  23. ↑ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
  24. ↑ Bell, Nicholas (June 6, 2017). "Criterion Collection: Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 2 | Blu-ray Review". IONCINEMA.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Included in the Criterion Collection WCP No. 2 Boxset [19]
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Included in the Criterion Collection WCP No. 3 Boxset [20]
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Included in the Criterion Collection WCP No. 1 Boxset [10]
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Included in the Criterion Collection WCP No. 4 Boxset [15]
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