L'Immagine Ritrovata, which was founded in 1992, has been active in Asia for a number of years already, and recently completed its restoration of Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, and John Woo's A Better Tomorrow (which premieres this weekend at the Shanghai International Film Festival). Business in the region grew so much that a permanent presence in Asia was necessary.
Under the leadership of Bede Cheng (formerly of the Hong Kong International Film Festival) and staff who plied their trade at the Hong Kong Film Archive, L'Immagine Ritrovata Asia has already set its sights on restoring films from Thailand, the Philippines and a number of local titles. They are being tight-lipped about precisely which films are next up for restoration, but they have promised a formal announcement soon.
The Hong Kong offices are located within Johnnie To's Milkway Building, which might bode well for the preservation of that particular auteur's cinematic offerings. Suffice to say that the future is looking bright for classic Asian Cinema.
Take a look at the gallery below to check out some of the state of the art equipment and facilities - as well as the ceremonial suckling pig - from yesterday's opening ceremony.