Il Cinema Ritrovato, Cineteca di Bologna major annual festival, was born 31 years ago out of the simple idea that film heritage still needed to be discovered, appreciated and then preserved, restored and programmed on a big screen and in front of an audience. That cinema is and has always been a powerful utopia and possibly the most powerful and transnational artistic expression ever created to understand mankind and its manifestations.

Today, thanks to the support, knowledge and generosity of archives from all over the world, Il Cinema Ritrovato is an internationally established festival, a nine-day journey through time and space: from silent to sound cinema, through all genres, continents and techniques; from XIX century hand-painted films to Cinemascope or Technicolor, from carbon-arc to 70mm screening to live orchestra accompaniments.

Restoration has always been one of the core missions of Cineteca di Bologna, resulting, in the 1990s, in the establishment of L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory. An in-depth knowledge of film history and practices, a long experience in the field, a careful preliminary philological research together with a state-of-the-art technological equipment, make L’Immagine Ritrovata a leading laboratory in the field of film restoration. 

Among the most time-consuming and challenging on-going restorations is The Keaton Project, restoring 30 titles from Buster Keaton golden era (1920-1928).

With the restoration of the Modernissimo theatre, Cineteca di Bologna has undertaken a cultural and entrepreneurial challenge. Focusing on the values and ideas that lie at the foundation of Il Cinema Ritrovato, the re-opening of the Modernissimo has a double-faceted mission: to recover a beautiful and historical Art Nouveau theatre that 100 years ago brought into Bologna modern cinematic entertainment – on the one hand – and to disseminate film culture at the very heart of town, in the most democratic, diverse and accessible way.