Deputy Director of the China Film Archive Sun Xianghui and CEO of Italian Laser S. Films Andrea Di Nardo attended a press conference in Shanghai on March 19 to introduce and showcase film restoration results. When completed, the restored films will be screened for this year's Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) in June.

At present, three classic films made in 1930s and 1940s, including "A Spring River Flows East," "Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon" and "Crossroads", are undergoing restoration.

Last year, the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) implemented the strategy of restoring classic Chinese films copies. The move received widespread support from a host of celebrities such as Oscar winner Susan Saradon, "Rain Man" director Barry Levinson, Chinese director Wang Quannan and actress Zhang Yuqi, among others.

After SIFF concluded, the organizing committee immediately launched its Film Restoration Project and chose the relevant institutes to do the job. The China Film Archive then snapped up the right to restore "A Spring River Flows East," while Italian restoration company Laser S. Films would be responsible for two other films: "Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon" and "Crossroads."

These three films are considered classics in the world of Chinese cinema, made in the 1930s and 1940s. More classic films will be restored in the future.

Andrea Di Nardo revealed to reporters that the restoration process is complicated and time consuming, a process that involves a number of stages. A lengthy film will take two months to restore, mainly working in 2 areas: restoring the pictures and restoring the sound.

Picture restoration, cleaning, frame interpolation, color modulation and scratch removal must be done frame by frame. For sound restoration, staff must first record soundtracks into computers, reduce white noise, adjust acoustic fidelity and then sync the sound and the pictures. The last step is to reedit it and save it in digital patterns.

"Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon" and "Crossroads," are expected to complete by the end of May.

Sun Xianghui, deputy director of the China Film Archive, said that they have more than 30 thousand Chinese films made since 1922. However, some earlier films suffer from mold, color-fading and some other serious damage.

The China Film Archive has finished the picture restoration for "A Spring River Flows East."

The vice executive secretary of BIFF, Tang Lijun, stated that this emphasis on the restoration of old films advances the motive of protecting film heritage as well as cultural integrity. The organizing committee of SIFF will promote the restored films via new media platforms as well as various international film festivals.

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