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.

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, 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" which includes 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]

Restored films

English title Year Director Country of origin
After the Curfew[A 1] 1954 Usmar Ismail Indonesia
Alyam, Alyam 1978 Ahmed El Maanouni Morocco
Badou Boy 1970 Djibril Diop Mambéty Senegal
Black Girl[4][5][6] 1966 Ousmane Sembène Senegal & France
Borom Sarret[7] 1963 Ousmane Sembène Senegal
The Boys from Fengkuei 1983 Hou Hsiao-hsien Taiwan
A Brighter Summer Day[8] 1991 Edward Yang Taiwan
Chess of the Wind[9][A 2] 1976 Mohammad Reza Aslani Iran
Chronicle of the Years of Fire 1975 Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina Algeria
The Cloud-Capped Star 1960 Ritwik Ghatak India
The Color of Pomegranates 1969 Sergei Parajanov Soviet Union
Contras'city 1969 Djibril Diop Mambéty Senegal
Downpour[A 1] 1972 Bahram Bayzai Iran
Dry Summer[A 3][11] 1964 Metin Erksan Turkey
The Dupes 1973 Tewfik Saleh Syria
Eight Deadly Shots 1972 Mikko Niskanen Finland
Él 1953 Luis Buñuel Mexico
El fantasma del convento 1934 Fernando de Fuentes Mexico
The Eloquent Peasant[12] 1969 Shadi Abdel Salam Egypt
Enamorada 1946 Emilio Fernández Mexico
The Housemaid[A 3][13] 1960 Kim Ki-young South Korea
Insiang[A 4] 1976 Lino Brocka Philippines
Kalpana[A 2] 1948 Uday Shankar India
Kummatty 1979 Govindan Aravindan India
Law of the Border[A 4] 1966 Lüfti Ö. Akad Turkey
Limite[A 4][15][16] 1931 Mário Peixoto Brazil
Los Olvidados 1950 Luis Buñuel Mexico
Lucía[A 1] 1968 Humberto Solás Cuba
Lumumba: Death of a Prophet 1990 Raoul Peck Democratic Republic of the Congo
Macario 1960 Roberto Gavaldón Mexico
Manila in the Claws of Light 1975 Lino Brocka Philippines
Memories of Underdevelopment[17] 1968 Tomás Gutiérrez Alea Cuba
Muna Moto[A 2] 1975 Jean-Pierre Dikongué Pipa Cameroon
Mysterious Object at Noon[A 4] 2000 Apichatpong Weerasethakul Thailand
The Night of Counting the Years[18] 1969 Shadi Abdel Salam Egypt
Pixote[A 1] 1980 Héctor Babenco Brazil
Prisioneros de la tierra[A 2] 1939 Mario Soffici Argentina
Raid into Tibet 1966 Adrian Cowell United Kingdom
Redes[A 3][20] 1936 Emilio Gómez Muriel & Fred Zinnemann Mexico
Revenge[A 4][21] 1989 Ermek Shinarbaev Soviet Union
A River Called Titas[A 3] 1973 Ritwik Ghatak India & Bangladesh
Sambizanga[A 2] 1972 Sarah Maldoror Angola
Soleil Ô[A 1][23] 1970 Med Hondo Mauritania
The Stranger and the Fog 1974 Bahram Beyzai Iran
Taipei Story[A 4] 1985 Edward Yang Taiwan
Thampu 1978 Govindan Aravindan India
Touki Bouki[A 3][24][25] 1973 Djibril Diop Mambéty Senegal
Trances[A 3][26] 1981 Ahmed El Maanouni Morocco
The Treasure 1970 Lester James Peries Sri Lanka
Two Girls on the Street[A 2] 1939 André de Toth Hungary
Two Monks[A 1] 1934 Juan Bustillo Oro Mexico
The Woman with the Knife 1969 Timité Bassori Côte d'Ivoire
Xiao Wu 1997 Jia Zhangke China
Yam Daabo 1986 Idrissa Ouédraogo Burkina Faso & France

Upcoming restorations

English title Year Director Country of origin
The Winds of the Aures 1967 Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina Algeria
Faces of Women 1985 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 mission to save African cinema - CNN
  6. ^ Partnership with the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers to restore African cinema|UNESCO
  7. ^ Martin Scorsese's mission to save African cinema - CNN
  8. ^ Criterion Collection: Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2 | Blu-ray Review - IONCINEMA.com
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project". The Criterion Collection.
  11. ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
  12. ^ Martin Scorsese's mission to save African cinema - CNN
  13. ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
  14. ^ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 2". The Criterion Collection.
  15. ^ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
  16. ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, Ghost World and The Last Word: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Picks|Filmmaker Magazine
  17. ^ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
  18. ^ Martin Scorsese's mission to save African cinema - CNN
  19. ^ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 3". The Criterion Collection.
  20. ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
  21. ^ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
  22. ^ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 4". The Criterion Collection.
  23. ^ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
  24. ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
  25. ^ The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema|Movies|Empire
  26. ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Included in the Criterion Collection WCP No. 3 Boxset[19]
  2. ^ a b c d e f Included in the Criterion Collection WCP No. 4 Boxset[22]
  3. ^ a b c d e f Included in the Criterion Collection WCP No. 1 Boxset[10]
  4. ^ a b c d e f Included in the Criterion Collection WCP No. 2 Boxset[14]

External links

Categories