The Cannes Film Festival returns, after a one-year stop because of the pandemic, for a new edition. As always, the festival has a section named Cannes Classics, that features the best restored prints of the previous months. These are the movies the ACE members have worked on that are going to be screened in Cannes:
Murder in Harlem by Oscar Micheaux (1935, 1h36, United States)
The first African-American director in the history of American cinema is honored in a sublime restored copy of one of his greatest films accompanied by a fascinating documentary. The film is presented by Cineteca di Bologna. Restored in 2021 by the George Eastman Museum and Cineteca di Bologna in association with the Film Foundation, Quoiat Films and Sky from a35mm nitrate print in the SMU/Tyler Film Collection, SMU Libraries, deposited at the George Eastman Museum. Restoration performed at George Eastman Museum Film Preservation Services and L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory
Followed by: Oscar Micheaux – The Superhero of Black Filmmaking by Francesco Zippel (1h20, Italy)
Orfeu Negro (Black Orfeus) by Marcel Camus (1959, 1h45, France / Brazil / Italy)
The film has won the Palme d’Or in 1959. Presented by Solaris Distribution. Presented by Impex Films and Tigon Film Distributors. 4digital restoration by Impex Films and Tigon Film Distributors with the help of the CNC, from the original 35mm negative. Laboratory: Hiventy Classics.
Francesco, giullare di Dio (Les onze fioretti de François d’Assise / The Flowers of St. Francis) by Roberto Rossellini (1950, 1h27, Italy)
Presented by Cineteca di Bologna and The Film Foundation. Restored in 2021 by Cineteca di Bologna and The Film Foundation, in association with RTI-Mediaset and Infinity+, at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas FamiFoundation.
La Drôlesse (The Hussy) by Jacques Doillon (1978, 1h30, France)
Presented by Malavida. 2k scan and restoration made from the negative image, by Éclair Cinéma laboratory. Sound restored from the negative by L.E. Diapason. Restoration made by Gaumont with the support of the CNC. In preview of the retrospective « Jacques Doillon, jeune cinéaste » starting on November 3rd 2021.
Director Jacques Doillon in attendance
I Know Where I’m Going! (Je sais où je vais!) by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (1945, 1h32, United Kingdom)
Presented by the Film Foundation. Restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV and Park Circus. Restoration funding provided by theHobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Additional support provided by Matt Spick.
Lumumba : la mort du prophète (Lumumba: Death of a Prophet) by Raoul Peck (1990, 1h09, France / Germany / Switzerland / Belgium / Haiti)
Presented by The Film Foundation within the framework of the World Cinema Project. Restored by the The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata/L’Image Retrouvée in collaboration with Velvet Film and supervised Raoul Peck. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. This restoration is part of the African Film Heritage Project, an initiative created by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers and UNESCO – in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna – to help locate, restore, and disseminate African cinema.
Friendship’s Death by Peter Wollen (1987, 1h18, United Kingdom)
Presented by the British Film Institute (BFI). The 4K remastering by the BFI National Archive was from the original Standard 16mm colour negative. The soundtrack was digitised directly from the original 35mm final mix magnetic master track. The remastering was undertaken in collaboration with the film’s producer, Rebecca O’Brien and cinematographer, Witold Stok.
Actress Tilda Swinton in attendance
Bal poussière by Henri Duparc (1989, 1h33, Ivory Coast)
Presented by the CNC and the Henri Duparc Foundation. Restoration of the original 16mm negative image by the CNC laboratory. 2K scan. Color grading: Hiventy. Sound restoration from the original 16mm magnetic: L’Image retrouvée.
F for Fake (Vérités et Mensonges) by Orson Welles (1973, 1h25, France/ Iran / Germany)
Presented by Les Films de L’Astrophore and La Cinémathèque française in collaboration with Documentaire sur grand écran. Restored by Les Films de L’Astrophore and La Cinémathèque française in collaboration with Documentaire sur grand écran, the Cinémathèque suisse and the Audiovisual institute of Monaco, with the support of Hiventy and the company foundation Neuflize OBC. Restoration work, image and sound made by the Hiventy laboratory, from the original negative and at L.E. Diapason Studio from the 35mm magnet track.
La guerre est finie (The War is Over) by Alain Resnais (1966, 2h01, France)
Presented by Gaumont. First digital restoration in 4K presented by Gaumont with the support of the CNC. Restoration made by Éclair Classics laboratory.
Échec au porteur (Not Delivered) by Gilles Grangier (1957, 1h27, France)
Presented by Pathé. 4K scan and 2K restoration from the original safety negative (negative image, a standard dupe, a negative optical sound). Work made by L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory (Paris-Bologne). Restoration with the support of the Centre national du cinema de l’image animée (CNC).
Napló gyermekeimnek (Journal intime / Diary for my children) by Márta Mészáros (1983, 1h49, Hungary)
Presented by National Film Institute Hungary – Film Archive. The 4K digital restoration was carried out as part of “The long-term restoration program of Hungarian film heritage” of the National Film Institute – Film Archive. The restoration was made using the original image negatives and magnetic tape sound, it was carried out at the National Film Institute- Film Archive. The Digital grading was supervised by Nyika Jancsó, DOP of the film.
Director Márta Mészáros and DOP Nyika Jancsó in attendance
Až přijde kocour (Un jour, un chat / The Cassandra Cat) by Vojtech Jasný (1963, 1h45, Czech Republic)
Presented by the Národní filmový archiv, Prague. 4K digital restoration based on the intermediate positive was done by L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in Bologna, 2021. The donors of this project were Mrs. Milada Kučerová and Mr. Eduard Kučera. Restored in partnership with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. French distribution: Malavida Films. Actress Emília Vašáryová in attendance
Dan četrnaesti (Le Quatorzième jour / The Fourteenth Day) by Zdravko Velimirovic (1960, 1h41, Montenegro / Serbia)
Presented by Crnogorska kinoteka, Podgorica & Jugoslovenska kinoteka, Belgrade. Digitally restored film from a 2K scan of the original black & white negative.
Il cammino della speranza (Le Chemin de l’espérance / The Path of Hope) by Pietro Germi (1950, 1h45, Italy)
Presented by the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Cineteca Nazionale. Restored by Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Cineteca Nazionale from the original 35mm negative made available by CristaldiFilm, completed by a dupe of the Cineteca Nazionale and optical sound of a positive by the Cineteca Nazionale.