Global streaming service, production company and film distributor, MUBI has partnered with The Film Foundation to bring 15 recently restored films to the platform in Malaysia.
Founded by Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation works with archives and studios to restore and preserve films from all over the world. All 15 films (listed below) have been lovingly restored and made available through The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project and will be available to watch on MUBI over the coming months.
“I'm thrilled that these films, restored through The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, will be streaming on MUBI,” said Martin Scorsese, Founder and Chair of The Film Foundation. “For over three decades, The Film Foundation has worked to preserve, restore, and make available films from every era, genre, and region – over 925 to date. MUBI is an ideal partner for The Film Foundation as they share the same mission: to make films accessible to viewers around the world and to educate about cinema's artistic, cultural, and historical significance. I look forward to sharing these beautiful restorations with MUBI's vast and appreciative audience.”
The collection of films will be featured in a film group on MUBI called Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project. Titles include:
(Please note dates are subject to change)
Muna Moto / The Child of Another (Jean-Pierre Dikongué-Pipa, 1975) – Available Now
Ngando and Ndomé are in love. They wish to marry but Ngando cannot afford her dowry. However, when Ndomé becomes pregnant, tradition demands her to take a husband and a marriage with Ngando's uncle is quickly arranged. In his despair, Ngando decides to do the unthinkable on the day of the wedding.
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project. 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.
Pixote (Héctor Babenco, 1980) – Available Now
Pixote follows a group of boys from the horrors of reform school to their escape onto the streets of São Paulo, and revolves around 11-year-old orphan Pixote. Abandoned by those that were meant to protect them, they are forced to survive with the only economies open to them: sex and drugs.
Restored by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata in association with HB Filmes, Cinemateca Brasileira, and JLS Facilitações Sonoras. Restoration funded by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
Chess Of The Wind (Mohammad Reza Aslani, 1976) – 11 April
The first lady of a noble house has died and now there is conflict between the remainders for taking over her inheritance.
Restored by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L'Image Retrouvée laboratory (Paris) in collaboration with Mohammad Reza Aslani and Gita Aslani Shahrestani. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
Limite (Mário Peixoto, 1931) – 21 April
In a drifting small boat, two women and a man recall their recent past. One of the women escaped from the prison; the other one was desperate; and the man had lost his lover. They have no further strength or desire to live and have reached the limit of their existences.
Restored in 2010 by the Cinemateca Brasileira and Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, Arquivo Mario Peixoto, Saulo Pereira de Mello, and Walter Salles. Restoration funded by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways and Qatar Museum Authority.
Law of the Border (Lüfti Ö. Akad, 1966) – Coming in May
In Deliviran, a village near Urfa close to the Syrian border, Hidir's chief is involved in smuggling and gets shot. Hidir tries to stay out of illegal activities but circumstances contrive to push him in the opposite direction until he accepts to take a herd of sheep across the border.
Restored in 2013 by Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, Dadaş Films, and the Turkish Ministry of Culture. Restoration funded by Doha Film Institute.
Oh, Sun (Med Hondo, 1967) – Coming in May
An African immigrant to France struggles to find work, facing racism and discrimination.
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in collaboration with Med Hondo. Restoration funded by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project. 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.
A River Called Titas (Ritwik Ghatak, 1973) – Coming in June
Based on the acclaimed novel by Advaita Malla Barman, and shot in Ghatak's childhood home of East Bengal shortly after the independence of Bangladesh, the film captures the songs, speech, rituals, and rhythms of a once self-sufficient community and culture swept away.
Restored in 2010 by Cineteca di Bologna /L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with Ritwik Memorial Trust, the National Film Archive of India, and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project. Additional film elements provided by the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv. Restoration funded by Doha Film Institute.
Revenge (Ermek Shinarbaev, 1989) – Coming in July
Soungou, a young and fragile Korean boy, carries a heavy burden on his shoulders, transmitted in his childhood by his father. His obsession in life: revenge. If tradition is not fulfilled, if his father's soul is not appeased, Soungou will never find his place on earth.
Restored in 2010 by Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, the Kazakhfilm Studio, the State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ermek Shinarbaev. Restoration funded by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways and Qatar Museum Authority.
Sayat Nova/ The Color of Pomegranates (Sergei Parajanov, 1969) – Coming in July
A portrait of revered 18th-century Armenian poet and musician Sayat-Nova. Chronicling this emblematic figure's life from childhood up to his death, the film addresses his several relationships with women, especially his muse.
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, in association with the National Cinema Centre of Armenia and Gosfilmofond of Russia. Restoration funded by the Material World Charitable Foundation.
Trances (Ahmed El Maanouni, 1981)- Coming in August
The groundbreaking Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane perform a series of electrifying live performances in Tunisia, Morocco, and France. Storytellers through song and traditional instruments, the band became an international sensation, thanks to its rebellious lyrics and sublime, fully acoustic sound.
Restored in 2007 by Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, Ahmed El-Maanouni, and Izza Genini. Restoration funded by Armani, Cartier, Qatar Airways and Qatar Museum Authority.
La Femme Au Couteau (Timité Bassori, 1969) – Coming in August
African traditions are called into question through the difficulties of a young intellectual traumatised by too strict an upbringing in Africa.
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project. Restoration funded 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.
Dry Summer (Metin Erksan, 1964) – Coming in September
A scheming tobacco farmer sets out to ruin his competition by diverting the local water to his own property. A love triangle develops between the farmer, his more decent brother, and the beautiful villager the latter takes as his bride.
Restored in 2008 by Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, Ulvi Dogan, and Fatih Akim. Additional elements provided by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Stiftung. Restoration funded by Armani, Cariter, Qatar Airways, and Qatar Museum Authority.
Mysterious Object at Noon (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2000) – Coming in October
In this semi-documentary, Apichatpong Weerasethakul provides an original portrayal of his fellow citizens. Battling food vendors, a boxer addicted to TV, a pious policewoman and a loveless rubber-tree tapper each contribute to a serial narrative.
Restored in 2013 by the Austrian Film Museum and Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, LISTO laboratory in Vienna, Technicolor Ltd in Bangkok, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Restoration funded by Doha Film Institute.
Black Girl (Ousmane Sembène, 1966) – Coming soon
A Senegalese woman is eager to find a better life abroad. She takes a job as a governess for a French family, but finds her duties reduced to those of a maid after the family moves to the south of France. In her new country, she is constantly made aware of her race and mistreated by her employers.
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna/ L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with the Sembène Estate, Institut National de l'Audiovisuel, INA, Eclair laboratories and the Centre National de Cinématographie. Restoration funded by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project.
The Wagoner (Ousmane Sembène, 1963) -Coming soon
Opens to the stark emptiness of a black screen, evocatively filled by the sound of a solemn, mystical tribal chant amid the asynchrony of a blunt, rhythmic beat. The darkness subsequently reveals a high contrast, daylight shot of the impoverished quarters of a local cartmen.
Restored in 2013 by Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory and Laboratoires Éclair, in association with The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel, and the Sembène Estate. Restoration funded by Doha Film Institute.
