The Museum of Modern Art announced in early December the To Save and Project: The 19th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation, the latest edition of the annual festival dedicated to celebrating newly preserved and restored films from archives, studios, distributors, foundations, and independent filmmakers from around the world. Running from January 12 to February 2, 2023, this year’s program will open and close with the restoration premieres of two major silent films from MoMA’s archive: Paul Leni’s horror comedy The Cat and the Canary (1927) and Ernst Lubitsch’s comedy The
Marriage Circle (1924), respectively. To Save and Project is organized by Dave Kehr, Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art, and Cindi Rowell, independent curator, with special thanks to Olivia Priedite, Film Program Coordinator, and Steve Macfarlane, Department Assistant, Department of Film.
The 2023 program includes the highly anticipated new version of Tod Browning’s insidious silent horror film The Unknown (1927), from the George Eastman Museum, which features 10 minutes of newly discovered footage of Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford. Other festival highlights include two upgrades of American classics from the Library of Congress: the 1929 version of The Letter, with the legendary Broadway star Jeanne Eagels, and René Clair’s supernatural screwball comedy I Married a Witch (1942), featuring Veronica Lake and Fredric March.
This year’s lineup will showcase a selection of foreign films, including two Mexican films: Él (This Strange Passion) (1953), Luis Buñuel’s classic study of the delirium of desire, and, from Janus Films, Felipe Cazals’s harrowing docudrama Canoa: A Shameful Memory (1976). The program will also feature two films from Asia: the Thai drama Choo (The Adulterer) (1972) and Aravindan Govindan’s warm comedy of Indian village life, Thamp̄ (The Circus Tent) (1978). Other foreign titles include Kaze no naka no mendori (A Hen in the Wind) (1948), by Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu; the German Weimar-era musical Die Privatsekretärin (Private Secretary) (1931); and Muriel Box’s This Other Eden (1959), the first feature film directed by a woman in Ireland.
The Academy Film Archive will present Reform School (1939), a rare 1939 Black-cast film starring Louise Beavers. From the Women’s Film Preservation Fund comes One Hand Don’t Clap (1988), Kavery Kaul’s documentary about the calypso music of Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, a program of LGBTQ shorts will include Lucy Winer’s Greetings from Washington, D.C. (1981), a record of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights; Tricia’s Wedding (1971), a farcical re-enactment of the wedding of Richard Nixon’s daughter, performed by the San Francisco drag troupe The Cockettes; and Death
by Unnatural Causes (1992), Karen Bellone and Lisa Rinzler’s experimental film about the impact of AIDS.
Other festival highlights include special related programming:
Scott MacQueen will host a film preservation workshop on Saturday, January 14, at 4:00 p.m. in Titus Theater 2. With over three decades of experience, including 10 years as the former head of preservation at UCLA Film and Television Archive, MacQueen will discuss two of his most recent restoration projects: William Dieterle’s All That Money Can Buy (1941) and William Cameron Menzies’s Invaders from Mars (1953).
As part of MoMA’s long-running Modern Mondays series, To Save and Project will welcome legendary Bay Area experimental filmmaker Greta Snider for a special evening on Monday, January 23, at 7:00 p.m. A selection of Snider’s found-footage collage films and punkinfused auto-fictions will screen in 16mm restorations from the Academy Film Archive, followed by a conversation with the filmmaker in a rare New York City appearance. Organized by Sophie Cavoulacos, Associate Curator, Department of Film.
On Saturday, January 28, at 4:00 p.m., this year’s festival will include an illustrated lecture about Hollywood’s first widescreen boom in the late 1920s, titled The Bigger Picture: Widescreen before CinemaScope. James Layton, manager of MoMA’s Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center, and David Pierce, assistant chief and chief operations officer of the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, Packard Campus, will discuss the 20 years before CinemaScope successfully transformed the movies, including examples of Fox’s pioneering Grandeur format.
See accompanying screening schedule for full program details and guest appearance dates.
ABOUT TO SAVE AND PROJECT:
As the first cultural institution to collect film as an art form, The Museum of Modern Art has long been at the forefront of the preservation and restoration of moving-image material. Founded in 2003, MoMA’s annual To Save and Project festival has become the Museum’s showcase for presenting new restorations from our archive, as well as work from colleagues around the world—archives, foundations, studios, and others—engaged in maintaining and presenting precious audiovisual heritage.
SPONSORSHIP:
Film at MoMA is made possible by CHANEL.
Film Screenings & Program Schedule
January 12 – February 2, 2023
The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters
Organized by Dave Kehr, Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art, and Cindi Rowell, independent curator, with special thanks to Olivia Priedite, Film Program Coordinator, and Steve Macfarlane, Department Assistant, Department of Film.
The Cat and the Canary. 1927. USA. Directed by Paul Leni, adapted by Robert F. Hill, Alfred A. Cohn, Walter Anthony, Edward J. Montagne from the play by John Willard. With Laura La Plante, Crieghton Hale, Tully Marshall. 4K digital restoration by The Museum of Modern Art. Funding provided by The Celeste Bartos Fund for Film Preservation. World premiere. Silent; with piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin. 86 min.
Thursday, January 12, 7:00 p.m. T2
Sunday, January 29, 4:00 p.m. T2
The Letter. 1929. USA. Directed by Jean de Limur. Screenplay by Garrett Fort, from the play by W. Somerset Maugham. With Jeanne Eagels, O. P. Heggie, Herbert Marshall, Lady Tsen Mei. Digital restoration by the Library of Congress and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation; 35mm print courtesy of Park Circus. New York premiere. 65 min.
Friday, January 13, 5:00 p.m. T2
Wednesday, January 25, 7:00 p.m. T2
I Married a Witch. 1942. USA. Directed by Rene Clair. Written by Robert Pirosh, Marc Connelly and Norman Matson, from a story by Thorne Smith. With Fredric March, Veronica Lake, Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward, Cecil Kellaway. Digital restoration by the Library of Congress and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation; courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive. New York premiere. 77 min.
Friday, January 13, 7:00 p.m. T2
Monday, January 30, 4:30 p.m. T1
All That Money Can Buy. 1941. Directed by William Dieterle. Written by Stephen Vincent Benet and Dan Totheroh. With Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, Jane Darwell, Simone Simon, Gene Lockart, John Qualen. Digital restoration by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation in collaboration with Janus Films, The Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress, with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation; courtesy of Janus Films. New York premiere. 107 min.
Saturday, January 14, 1:30 p.m. T2
Wednesday, January 18, 6:30 p.m. T2
Lecture on film restorations by Scott MacQueen on William Dieterle’s All That Money Can
Buy (1941) and William Cameron Menzies’ Invaders from Mars (1953).
Saturday, January 14, 4:00 p.m. T2
Invaders from Mars. 1953. USA. Directed by William Cameron Menzies. Written by Richard Blake. With Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt, Leif Erickson, Hillary Brooke. 4K digital restoration by Ignite Films under the supervision of Scott MacQueen at Roundabout Entertainment laboratory, from the original camera negative and three SuperCINEColor prints preserved at UCLA Film & Television Archive, George Eastman Museum and National Film & Sound Archive of Australia; courtesy of Ignite Films. New York premiere. 78 min.
Saturday, January 14, 6:30 p.m. T2
Wednesday, January 18, 4:30 p.m. T2
Choo (The Adulterer). 1972. Thailand. Directed by Piak Poster (Somboonsuk Niyomsiri). Written by Chamak. With Manop Asawathep, Wandee Sritrang, Krung Sriwilai. Digital restoration courtesy the Thai Film Archive (Public Organization). International premiere. In Thai; English subtitles. 145 min.
Sunday, January 15, 1:00 p.m. T2
Thursday, January 24, 4:00 p.m. T2
Canoa: memoria de un hecho vergonzoso (Canoa: A Shameful Memory). 1976. Mexico. Directed by Felipe Cazals. Written by Tomás Pérez Turrent. With Enrique Lucero, Salvador Sanchez, Ernest Gomez Cruz. 4K digital restoration by Criterion Collection with the supervision of Felipe Cazals; courtesy Janus Films. In Spanish; English subtitles. U.S. premiere. 115 min.
Sunday, January 15, 4:00 p.m. T2
Thursday, January 26, 4:00 p.m. T2
Kaze no naka no mendori (A Hen in the Wind). 1948. Japan. Directed by Yasujiro Ozu. Screenplay by YasujirôOzu, Ryôsuke Saitô. With Kinuyo Tanaka, Shûji Sano, Chieko Murata. Digital restoration by Shochiku; courtesy Janus Films. In Japanese; English subtitles. U.S. premiere. 84 min.
Monday, January 16, 4:30 p.m. T2
Thursday, February 2, 7:00 p.m. T2
Thamp̄(The Circus Tent). 1978. India. Directed by Aravindan Govindan. With Bharath Gopi, Nedumudi Venu, D. P. Nair, Sreedharan Chambad, Jalaja. Digital restoration by Film Heritage Foundation, The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna at Prasad Corporation Pvt. Ltd.’s Post Studios, Chennai and L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna in association with Producer K. Ravindranathan Nair of General Pictures and the family of Aravindan Govindan; restoration funding provided by
Prasad Corporation Pvt. Ltd. and The Film Heritage Foundation. Courtesy Film Heritage Foundation. In Malayalam; English subtitles. U.S. premiere. 129 min.
Monday, January 16, 7:00 p.m. T2
Tuesday, January 31, 7:00 p.m. T2
Reform School. 1939. USA. Directed by Leo C. Popkin. Written by Zella Young. With Louise Beavers, Reginald Fenderson, Monte Hawley. Digital restoration courtesy of the Academy Film Archive with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts from a 16mm print donated by Giancarlo Esposito and Laurence Fishburne. New York premiere. 82 min.
Tuesday, January 17, 6:30 p.m. T2
Wednesday, February 1, 4:30 p.m. T2
Indian Summer. 1960. USA. Directed by Jules Victor Schwerin. Written by Schwerin and Peggy Lawson. Music by Pete and Mike Seeger. With Robert C. Gregory, Ralph Vanderlip, Grant Rodgers, David Marshall and Herta Marshall. Digital restoration by Charles Cadkin and Bill Brand, with support of The National Film Preservation Foundation and the Delaware County Historical Association. World premiere. 30 min.
Thursday, January 19, 6:30 p.m. T2 Cavalcade. 1933. USA. Directed by Frank Lloyd. Written by Reginald Berkeley, based on a play by Noël Coward. With Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O’Connor, Herbert Mundin, and Beryl Mercer. Digital restoration by Walt Disney Pictures in partnership with The Film Foundation, with the consultancy of the Academy Film Archive and lab work by Cineric (image) and Audio Mechanics (audio); courtesy of The Walt Disney Studios. North American premiere. 112 min.
Friday, January 20, 4:30 p.m. T2
Saturday, January 28, 1:00 p.m. T2
This Other Eden. 1959. Ireland. Directed by Muriel Box. Written by Blanaid Irvine and Patrick Kirwan, based on the play by Louis d’Alton. With Audrey Dalton, Leslie Phillips, Niall MacGinnis, Geoffrey Golden, Norman Rodway, and Milo O’Shea. Digital restoration courtesy of the Irish Film Institute. International premiere. 81 min.
Friday, January 20, 7:00 p.m. T2
Monday, January 23, 4:30 p.m. T1
Die Privatsekretärin (Private Secretary). 1931. Germany. Directed by Wilhelm Thiele. Written by Franz Schulz, from an operetta by István Békeffy. With Renate Müller, Hermann Thimig, Felix Bressart, Ludwig Stössel. Digital reconstruction by Filmmuseum München at Alpha-Omega Digital laboratory, from incomplete 16mm and 35mm prints preserved by Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv and the Library of Congress. In German; English subtitles. North American premiere. 81 min.
Saturday, January 21, 2:00 p.m. T2
Wednesday, January 25, 4:30 p.m. T2
Él (This Strange Passion). 1953. Mexico. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Screenplay by Bunuel and Luis Alcoriza, from a novel by Mercedes Pinto. With Arturo de Córdova, Delia Garcés, Aurora Walker. Digital restoration by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, Les Films du Camélia and Cineteca di Bologna with the support of OCAS and in association with Películas y Videos Internacionales; courtesy of The Film Foundation. U.S. premiere. In Spanish; English subtitles. 92 min.
Saturday, January 21, 4:00 p.m. T2
Thursday, January 26, 7:00 p.m. T2
The Unknown. 1927. USA. Directed by Tod Browning. Written by Browning and Waldemar Young. With Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Joan Crawford. Digital restoration courtesy of the George Eastman Museum from 35mm prints at GEM and the Národní filmovy archiv, with the support of The National Film Preservation Foundation. New York premiere. Silent; with piano accompaniment by Makia Matsumura. 66 min.
Saturday, January 21, 6:30 p.m. T2
Sunday, January 29, 2:00 p.m. T2
An Evening with Greta Snider
In connection with MoMA’s Modern Mondays. Organized by Sophie Cavoulacos, Associate Curator, Department of Film.
Monday, January 23, 7:00 p.m. T2
Death by Unnatural Causes. 1992. USA. Directed by Karen Bellone and Lisa Rinzler. With Sally Norvell, Kid Congo Powers, Hank Dittmar, Liz de Luna, and Larry Fessenden. 4K digital restoration courtesy of IndieCollect, funded by the HFPA Trust and IndieCollect donors to the Jane Fonda Fund for Women Directors. World premiere. 18 min.
Greetings from Washington, D.C. 1981. USA. Directed by Lucy Winer. Produced by Robert Epstein, Frances Reid, Greta, Schiller, Lucy Winer. Digital restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, with laboratory services provided by Metropolis Post, Audio Mechanics; courtesy of Women Make Movies. New York premiere. 28 min.
Tricia’s Wedding. 1971. USA. Directed by Milton Miron (credited as “Sebastian”). Written by Milton Miron, Robert Patteson, and Kreemah Ritz. With Goldie Glitters and The Cockettes. Digital restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive with funding provided by Frameline and Outfest, with laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Inc.; courtesy of Frameline. New York premiere. 33 min.
Tuesday, January 24, 7:00 p.m. T2
Friday, January 27, 4:30 p.m. T2
One Hand Don’t Clap. 1988. USA. Directed by Kavery Kaul. With Lord Kitchener and Calypso Rose. Digital restoration by the Academy Film Archive and the Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television; courtesy of Riverfilms. North American premiere. 92 min.
Friday, January 27, 7:00 p.m. T2
Tuesday, January 31, 4:30 p.m. T2
The Bigger Picture: Widescreen Before CinemaScope
For more information on the lecture: https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/6564
Saturday, January 28, 4:00 p.m. T2
Girls Town. 1996. USA. Directed by Jim McKay. Written by McKay, Denise Casano, Lili Taylor, Bruklin Harris, and Anna Grace. With Taylor, Harris, Grace, and Aunjanue Ellis. 4K digital restoration by IndieCollect, with support from the HFPA Trust, Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, IndieCollect donors, and Fellow Citizen, Inc.; courtesy of Jim McKay. World premiere. 90 min.
Saturday, January 28, 7:00 p.m. T2 with an introduction by the director
Wednesday, February 1, 7:00 p.m. T2
The Marriage Circle. 1924. USA. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Written by Paul Bern, based on the play by Lothar Schmidt. With Florence Vidor, Monte Blue, Marie Prevost, Creighton Hale, and Adolphe Menjou. Digital restoration by The Museum of Modern Art, with funding provided by Matthew and Natalie Bernstein. World premiere. Silent; with piano accompaniment by Ben Model. 85 min.
Monday, January 30, 6:30 p.m. T1
Thursday, February 2, 4:30 p.m. T2
