This Senegalese masterpiece of world cinema—a wild, surreal road movie about a young couple dreaming of escaping to Paris—had been unavailable for decades. The only surviving elements were a damaged 35mm print and a faded internegative. TFF’s (launched in 2007) restored the film’s vivid colors and jagged soundtrack. In 2013, the restored Touki Bouki was re-released and placed on the Criterion Collection, introducing Mambéty’s genius to a global audience.
Launched in 2007, the World Cinema Project expands TFF’s mission to regions where film preservation resources are scarce. It has restored 58 films from 28 countries, including: Preserved/Restored Films - The Film Foundation
Since its inception in 1990, one organization has stood as the most powerful cavalry charging over the hill to save this endangered art form: . Founded by legendary director Martin Scorsese, this non-profit organization has saved over 1,000 films from oblivion. To examine the list of films restored by The Film Foundation is not merely to read a catalog of old movies; it is to take a masterclass in the history of world cinema.