Visiting Filmmakers and a World Premiere Screening Are Among the Highlights at the 10th annual Cinema Revival: A Festival of Film Restoration

The complete schedule for Cinema Revival 2024: 

Wednesday, February 28

Ceddo  
(Ousmane Sembène, 1977) 
4 PM | Free with ticket
Ceddo explores the tensions between tradition, religion, colonization, and freedom through this tale of kidnapping, resistance, religious freedom, and an unlikely alliance. The film was banned in Sembène’s native Senegal for his depiction of the conflict between religion and traditional beliefs. (117 mins, 4K DCP)  

Thursday, February 29 
 
Senegalese Newsreels 1966-1976 
Introduced by Aboubakar Sanogo. 
4:30 PM | Free with ticket 
Found in Dakar in 2017 in the abandoned building of the former Ministry of Information, the films in this program were made by people who helped shape the future of Senegalese and African cinema. Together they serve as an important historical record of a then-newly independent nation. (79 mins, DCP) 
 
 
Friday, March 1 
 
Yam Daabo 
(Idrissa Ouédraogo, 1986) 
Introduced by Aboubakar Sanogo 
3 PM | Free with ticket 
In this visually stunning first feature by Burkina Faso filmmaker Idrissa Ouédraogo, a young family from the Sahel region decides to forgo assistance from the international agency USAID and look to other regions where they can support themselves. (80 mins, 4K DCP) 
 
The Many Miracles of Household Saints  
(Martina Savoca-Guay, 2023)  
5 PM | Free with ticket 
While she made Household Saints, director Nancy Savoca was pregnant with daughter Martina Savoca-Guay. Years later, Savoca-Guay offers a behind-the-scenes look at the 1993 indie film’s production through on-set footage and vintage interviews with the filmmakers, costar Lili Taylor, coproducer Jonathan Demme, and more. (58 mins, DCP) 
 
Household Saints  
(Nancy Savoca, 1993) 
Director Nancy Savoca and Producer Richard Guay in person 
7 PM 
One of the most beloved films from the indie filmmaking heyday of the early 1990s, Household Saints follows a young butcher (Vincent D’Onofrio) who “wins” the hand of his future wife (Tracey Ullman) in a pinochle game, and the devoutly religious daughter (Lili Taylor) born from their union. Taylor won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. A Q&A with Savoca and Guay follows the screening. (125 mins, 4K DCP) 
 
 
Saturday, March 2 
 
Victims of Sin  
(Emilio Fernández, 1951) 
12:30 PM 
Mexican film icon Ninón Sevilla stars as a cabaret performer who adopts an infant boy abandoned by a sex worker and her pimp. Supported by the kindly cabaret owner, she abandons her career as a performer for motherhood—until the pimp seeks to reclaim his son. A blend of film noir, melodrama and traditional musical, the film showcases Sevilla’s talents across African, Cuban, and Caribbean dance styles (84 mins, 4K DCP) 
 
The Letter  
(Jean di Lemur, 1929) 
Preceded by Accent on Girls (1935)  
and MGM Convention Reel (1937) 
Introduced by David Stenn 
2:30 PM  
This W. Somerset Maugham adaptation stars Jeanne Eagels as the bored wife of a rubber plantation owner who murders the lover who spurned her. She seems primed to get away with it, too, until an incriminating letter suddenly materializes.  Though not as well-known as the 1940 remake with Bette Davis, this pre-code version of The Letter is daring in ways not possible at the time of the later version. (65 mins, 4K DCP)  
 
Accent on Girls is a short showcase for Ina Ray Hutton and her all-female big band MeloDears. MGM Convention Reel features stars such as Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, and Joan Crawford; scandal kept the short suppressed for years.  (Each 10 mins, 35mm) 
 
David Stenn, a writer-producer for television, a biographer, and a prominent supporter of film preservation, will discuss the unique restoration story behind each of these films.   
 
Missing Movies Panel 
5 PM | Free with ticket 
Many films made in the last 50 years have become unavailable to the public due to lost elements, lost rights, or the indifference of a work’s legal owners. Missing Movies is dedicated to making these films available to watch again. Cofounders Dennis Doros and Amy Heller, also of Milestone Films, will discuss the related challenges with preservationist David Stenn and filmmakers Charles Burnett, Nancy Savoca, and Richard Guay. (Approx. 60 mins.) 
 
Cinema Revival Reception 
6 PM 
Ahead of the screening of Charles Burnett’s The Annihilation of Fish, mingle with the special guests participating in this year’s Cinema Revival and fellow movie lovers while enjoying light snacks and a cash bar. 
 
The Annihilation of Fish 
(Charles Burnett, 1999) 
7 PM 
World Premiere 
Director Charles Burnett in person 
In a Los Angeles boarding house, a relationship grows between a former housewife having an imagined love affair with 19th century composer Giacomo Puccini (Lynne Redgrave) and a mentally ill Jamaican widower fighting unseen demons (James Earl Jones). Burnett’s singular, rarely seen romantic comedy also features Margot Kidder as the pair’s energetic landlady. (108 mins, 4K DCP) 
 
 
Sunday, March 3 
 
The Stranger and the Fog  
(Bahram Beyzale, 1974) 
11:30 AM 
Previously considered impossible to see, this dreamlike, gorgeous work of the Iranian New Wave begins with a wounded man in a boat named Ayat who washes up on the shore of a small village, claiming to have no memory of who he is. After settling into community life with a young widow, Ayat’s newfound peace is threatened by the arrival of more strangers from the sea. (140 mins, 4K DCP) 
 
Smog  
(Franco Rossi, 1962) 
2:15 PM 
A true rarity before its recent restoration, the first Italian film shot entirely in Los Angeles follows a young Italian lawyer (played by Enrico Maria Salerno) on a 48-hour layover in L.A. on his way to Mexico City. He begins to encounter one Italian ex-pat after another, who lead him on a meandering trip around the city whose midcentury look and lifestyle was in sharp contrast to that in post-war Italy. (101 mins, 4K DCP) 
 
Peeping Tom  
(Michael Powell, 1960) 
4:15 PM 
One of the most notorious films of its era, Michael Powell’s thriller follows mild-mannered photographer Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) who shoots cheesecake photos for under-the-counter sale while working on a film about fear…and he has a diabolical method for eliciting the emotion in his subjects. Peeping Tom is often compared to Hitchcock’s Psycho, which it beat to the screen by mere months.  (102 mins, 4K DCP) 
 
 
Monday, March 4 
 
Xala  
(Ousmane Sembène, 1975) 
4 PM | Free with ticket 
A hilarious satire about the patriarchal and corrupt post-independence ruling class in Senegal, Xala was a major hit in its home country, despite government censorship of the film. A successful businessman with two wives (one traditional, one Western) is appointed to the local Chamber of Commerce. He decides to take a third wife, but problems on his wedding night lead him to believe he has been cursed by one of his other wives. (123 mins, 4K DCP) 
 

Restoration Credits

Ceddo and Xala: Restored in 4K in 2023 by Janus Films/The Criterion Collection. 

Senegalese Newsreels and Yam Daabo: Restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in collaboration with the Ministère de la Culture et du Patrimoine Historique de Senegal—Direction du Cinéma. Restoration funded by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.  
 
These restorations are 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. 
 
Household Saints: Digitally restored and remastered by Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts (Philadelphia) in collaboration with Milestone Films with support from Ron and Suzanne Naples. Restoration Supervisor: Ross Lipman, Corpus Fluxus. Picture Restoration: Illuminate Hollywood. Sound Restoration: Audio Mechanics. 
 
Victims of Sin: Restored from the original 35mm nitrate camera negative by Peter Conheim (Cinema Preservation Alliance/USA) and Viviana Garcia-Besné (Permanencia Voluntaria/Mexico). Preservation co-produced by Permanencia Voluntaria and Cinema Preservation Alliance with further assistance from IMCINE and the Academy Film Archive. 
 
The Letter: Restored by the Library of Congress and The Film Foundation. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
 
Annihilation of Fish: Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation with funding by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, and in collaboration with Milestone Films. Restored from the 35mm original picture negative and 35mm optical track negative. Laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Inc., FotoKem, Audio Mechanics, Simon Daniel Sound. UCLA Restorationist: Jillian Borders. Special thanks to Charles Burnett, John Demps, Dennis Doros, Amy Heller. 
 
The Stranger and the Fog: Restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. 
 
Smog: Restored in 4K in 2022 by Cineteca di Bologna and UCLA Film & Television Archive in collaboration with Warner Bros. Studio Operations and with the support of Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Restoration carried out at L’Immagine Ritrovata and Warner Bros. Post Production Service – Picture laboratories 
 
Peeping Tom: Restored by The Film Foundation and BFI National Archive in association with STUDIOCANAL. Funding provided by The Film Foundation and STUDIOCANAL. Special thanks to Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker for their consultation. 
 

Guest Bios

Charles Burnett is the director of such films as Killer of Sheep (1978), My Brother’s Wedding (1983), To Sleep with Anger (1990), and The Glass Shield (1994). He is a key figure in the L.A. Rebellion film movement that began in the 1970s. In 2017 he received an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement.  
 
Dennis Doros and Amy Heller are cofounders of the film distribution label Milestone Films. They have stewarded the restorations of such films as The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), Portrait of Jason (1967), Killer of Sheep (1978), Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989), and many more. They are Co-Presidents of Missing Movies, a nonprofit dedicated to making inaccessible films available for legal public viewing.  
 
Richard Guay is the producer of such films as True Love (1989), Dogfight (1991), Household Saints (1993), and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999). He is on the Board of Directors of Missing Movies, a nonprofit dedicated to making inaccessible films available for legal public viewing.  
 
Aboubakar Sanogo is the North American Regional Secretary for the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI), Africa’s most important filmmakers’ organization. He is currently working on the African Film Heritage Project (AFHP), a partnership between FEPACI, Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation and UNESCO, which seeks to preserve and restore significant African films. He is Associate Professor in Film Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa.  
 
Nancy Savoca is the director of such films as True Love (1989), Dogfight (1991), Household Saints (1993), and If These Walls Could Talk (1996). True Love received the Grand Jury Prize at the 1989 Sundance Film Festival. She is on the Board of Directors of Missing Movies, a nonprofit dedicated to making inaccessible films available for legal public viewing.  
 
David Stenn's writing and producing credits for television include Hill Street Blues; Boardwalk Empire; 21 Jump Street; Beverly Hills, 90210; and The L Word.  He is the author of biographies Clara Bow: Runnin’ Wild and Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow. “It Happened One Night…At M-G-M,” Stenn’s discovery for Vanity Fair of Hollywood’s best-suppressed scandal, brought vindication to rape survivor Patricia Douglas after 66 years in hiding. Stenn adapted this story into the documentary Girl 27. Stenn is a passionate supporter of film preservation. He serves on the Film Committee of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Board of Directors at the UCLA Film & Television Archive in Los Angeles.