The World Cinema Project (WCP) is a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation and restoration of neglected world cinema.
Founded in 2007 as the World Cinema Foundation by 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.
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.[2]
After leaving his position at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Kent Jones became the foundation's executive director.
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.[3]
Restored films
| English title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| After the Curfew[A 1] | 1954 | Usmar Ismail |
| Alyam, Alyam | 1978 | Ahmed El Maanouni |
| Black Girl[4][5][6] | 1966 | Ousmane Sembène |
| Borom Sarret[7] | 1963 | Ousmane Sembène |
| The Boys from Fengkuei | 1983 | Hou Hsiao-hsien |
| A Brighter Summer Day[8] | 1991 | Edward Yang |
| Chess of the Wind[9] | 1976 | Mohammad Reza Aslani |
| Chronicle of the Years of Fire | 1975 | Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina |
| The Cloud-Capped Star | 1960 | Ritwik Ghatak |
| The Color of Pomegranates | 1969 | Sergei Parajanov |
| Downpour [A 1] | 1971 | Bahram Bayzai |
| Dry Summer[A 2][11] | 1964 | Metin Erksan |
| The Eloquent Peasant[12] | 1969 | Shadi Abdel Salam |
| Enamorada | 1946 | Emilio Fernández |
| El fantasma del convento | 1934 | Fernando de Fuentes |
| The Housemaid[A 2][13] | 1960 | Kim Ki-young |
| Insiang[A 3] | 1976 | Lino Brocka |
| Kalpana | 1948 | Uday Shankar |
| Law of the Border[A 3] | 1966 | Lüfti Ö. Akad |
| Limite[A 3][15][16] | 1931 | Mário Peixoto |
| Lucía [A 1] | 1968 | Humberto Solás |
| Manila in the Claws of Light | 1975 | Lino Brocka |
| Memories of Underdevelopment[17] | 1968 | Tomás Gutiérrez Alea |
| Muna Moto | 1975 | Jean-Pierre Dikongué Pipa |
| Mysterious Object at Noon[A 3] | 2000 | Apichatpong Weerasethakul |
| The Night of Counting the Years[18] | 1969 | Shadi Abdel Salam |
| Los Olvidados | 1950 | Luis Buñuel |
| Xiao Wu | 1997 | Jia Zhangke |
| Pixote [A 1] | 1980 | Héctor Babenco |
| Prisioneros de la tierra | 1939 | Mario Soffici |
| Raid into Tibet | 1966 | Adrian Cowell |
| Redes[A 2][20] | 1936 | Emilio Gómez Muriel & Fred Zinnemann |
| Revenge[A 3][21] | 1989 | Ermek Shinarbaev |
| A River Called Titas[A 2] | 1973 | Ritwik Ghatak |
| Soleil Ô[A 1][22] | 1970 | Med Hondo |
| Taipei Story[A 3] | 1985 | Edward Yang |
| Touki Bouki[A 2][23][24] | 1973 | Djibril Diop Mambéty |
| Trances[A 2][25] | 1981 | Ahmed El Maanouni |
| The Treasure | 1970 | Lester James Peries |
| Two Girls on the Street | 1939 | André de Toth |
| Two Monks [A 1] | 1934 | Juan Bustillo Oro |
| The Woman with the Knife | 1969 | Timité Bassori |
Upcoming restorations
| English title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Bluebeard's Castle | 1963 | Michael Powell |
| The Winds of the Aures | 1967 | Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina |
| Eight Deadly Shots | 1972 | Mikko Niskanen |
| Sambizanga | 1972 | Sarah Maldoror |
| Faces of Women | 1985 | Desiré Ecaré |
References
- ^ DVD Savant Blu-ray + DVD Review: Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project
- ^ World Cinema Foundation
- ^ Official Film Foundation site
- ^ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
- ^ Martin Scorsese's mission to save African cinema - CNN
- ^ Partnership with the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers to restore African cinema|UNESCO
- ^ Martin Scorsese's mission to save African cinema - CNN
- ^ Criterion Collection: Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2 | Blu-ray Review - IONCINEMA.com
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project". The Criterion Collection.
- ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
- ^ Martin Scorsese's mission to save African cinema - CNN
- ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
- ^ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 2". The Criterion Collection.
- ^ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
- ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, Ghost World and The Last Word: Jim Hemphill’s Home Video Picks|Filmmaker Magazine
- ^ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
- ^ Martin Scorsese's mission to save African cinema - CNN
- ^ "Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 3". The Criterion Collection.
- ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
- ^ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
- ^ 10 Movie Classics From Scorsese's World Cinema Project — Taste of Cinema
- ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club
- ^ The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema|Movies|Empire
- ^ Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project is uneven but illuminating|AV Club