HFPA to Partner with Lumière Festival on Lumière Brothers’ Films Restoration

By Ed Meza

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – LYON, France  — The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is partnering with the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon to help restore 300 short films by brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière. In collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna and the Lumière Foundation, the donation will fund the second phase of restoration.

“The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has long been a supporter of film restoration with the goal of preserving the rich history of the world’s cinematic heritage,” said HFPA president Meher Tatna. “We’re proud to partner with the Lumière Foundation in Lyon, one of the world’s premiere showcases of classic and restored films.”

The Institut Lumière said the collaboration represented a renewed commitment to the preservation of film threatened by decay and deterioration.

“Our organizations share similar missions,” said Institut Lumière director Thierry Frémaux. “They’re to preserve the culture and history of motion pictures, foster cultural exchanges and understandings through original programs and exhibitions that utilize films, and to create and advance educational and cultural initiatives related to the entertainment industry.”

Lumière Festival organizers declined to disclose the exact amount of the HFPA donation.

The 10th edition of Lumière Film Festival on Sunday screened Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1948 technicolor classic “The Red Shoes,” starring Moira Shearer, which was restored in 4K by the UCLA Film Archives in collaboration with the HFPA, Louis B. Mayer Foundation and The Film Foundation.

The HFPA, which produces the annual Golden Globe Awards, has donated more than $33 million to entertainment-related charities, scholarship programs and humanitarian efforts.