Martin Scorsese and George Lucas Helped Restore Old Ukrainian Film: Now It Will Be Shown in Cinemas Again

The restored version of the cult film by Ukrainian director Sergei Parajanov, “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,” is returning to the big screen and will be released in wide release on May 29, 2025, writes Interfax Ukraine.

Photo: Kinomaster | Dreamstime.com

"Viewers deserve to see a masterpiece of Ukrainian cinema in high quality - with the smallest details, color halftones and musical accompaniment that restore the full power of Parajanov's aesthetics," emphasized Andriy Donchik, General Director of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio. "It is important for us not only to restore the film, but also to return it to the viewer as a living part of our culture."

According to him, the unique restoration allows viewers, especially young people, to see the film as its authors intended – director Sergei Parajanov, cameraman Yuri Ilyenko and composer Miroslav Skorik.

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The film "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors", filmed in 1964 based on the story of the same name by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, is considered the pinnacle of Ukrainian poetic cinema. The main roles were played by Ivan Mykolaichuk and Larisa Kadochnikova. The film, which topped the rating of the 100 best Ukrainian films according to film critics in 2021, tells the story of the tragic love of the Hutsul Romeo and Juliet against the backdrop of the Carpathian feud of clans.

With the help of Lucas and Scorsese

The restoration of the film was made possible by an international collaboration in which the George Lucas Foundation and The Film Foundation World Cinema Project, founded by Martin Scorsese, played a key role. The Lucas Foundation fully funded the restoration process, providing the resources for the complex and painstaking work. The Film Foundation, created by Scorsese in 1990 to preserve the world’s cinematic heritage, provided expert support and project coordination, ensuring that the restoration would preserve Parajanov’s original vision.

Film scholar Alik Shpilyuk said at the pre-premiere screening: "The entire process was financed by the George Lucas Foundation (USA), the film for scanning was provided by the British collector Daniel Bird, the scanning took place in Warsaw, and now the digital copy is stored in the Austrian Film Archive. For color correction, in order to accurately convey the colors of the original film, we used a vintage copy from the Harvard Film Archive."

The Lucas Foundation, known for its support of cultural preservation projects, provided the financial backing to attract the best technology and talent. Scorsese’s Film Foundation is known for restoring iconic films like Taxi Driver and Once Upon a Time in America. Its involvement ensured that strict standards were met, including a “do no harm” principle that prohibits changes that distort the original.

How Old Films Are Restored

Restoring old films is a complex process that combines technical and creative approaches to return the film to its original form and adapt it for modern screens. "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" went through a process consisting of several stages.

The restoration used film provided by British collector Daniel Bird, and color correction was done using a vintage copy from the Harvard Film Archive. This allowed the film to be as close to the original visual style as possible.

The film was scanned in high resolution (usually 4K) in Warsaw. Scanning allows the analogue material to be converted into digital format while preserving the image details.

Video stream stabilization systems were used to eliminate frame shaking typical of old films.

Specialists removed scratches, stains, flickering and other defects of the film using software. Frame-by-frame processing was used in the restoration of Parajanov’s iconic film to preserve the details of Hutsul costumes and Carpathian landscapes. According to international standards, defects that cannot be removed without losing the original content are left untouched to preserve authenticity.

As for color correction, it was a key stage for Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, as Parajanov’s film is famous for its rich palette and poetic aesthetics. A vintage copy from the Harvard archive helped restore the original colors conceived by Sergei Parajanov and Yuri Ilyenko.

The soundtrack was meticulously cleaned and restored to bring back the atmosphere of the film created by composer Miroslav Skoryk. This included removing noise and restoring clarity to the dialogue and music.

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While there is no specific mention of AI being used for Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, modern restorations often use neural networks to improve image quality, smooth out motion, or restore faces. For example, the Remini app can be used to process faces, while algorithms like Upscale can help upscale the resolution to 4K. In the case of Parajanov’s film, the emphasis was on traditional methods to preserve its unique aesthetic.

According to Donchik, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a film about Ukrainian identity that remains the foundation for modern Ukrainian cinema. The restoration, supported by the Lucas Foundation and the Scorsese Film Foundation, not only brought the film back to life, but also made it accessible to a new generation of viewers.

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