Scorsese Amongst Focal Award Winners

The prestigious Focal International Awards - in association with AP Archive - were held last night, with Martin Scorsese amongst his fellow winners to receive the Award for Best Archive Restoration/Preservation Project.
The Film Foundation was established by Mr Scorsese and is dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history.
As Chair of the foundation he was thrilled to receive this accolade in recognition of the restoration work carried out on the classic 1948 film The Red Shoes.
In receiving the award together with Fiona Maxwell, ITV Director of Operations ITV Global, Mr. Scorsese said: "It's been incredibly gratifying to help restore this magnificent film that has meant so much to me and many others. It's been remarkable to hear from the many people seeing the film for the first time - and re-discovering the film - through this restoration and re-release.
"It's served as a reminder of how important restoration is in introducing new audiences to great films from the past. I'm honoured to be here to represent The Film Foundation and our partners on this project; ITV, BFI, UCLA Film & Television Archive, and our generous funders, the HFPA and the Louis B Mayer Foundation. Focal International serves a crucial role in preservation by promoting and highlighting restoration work and recognising the technical expertise required. It's an honour to be recognised among the excellent group of projects that received nominations this year."
Focal International the trade body representing the world’s footage archives, professional footage researchers, consultants and facility houses welcomed nearly 400 media professionals from the UK and around the world to enjoy an evening of glamour, with celebrated British film-maker Lord (David) Puttnam, Focal International's Chair of Patrons, presenting the Awards.
A special award was also presented by Lord (Melvyn) Bragg acknowledging the collective work of the many researchers who had contributed to the South Bank Show over 30 years. This was accepted by long term researcher Phil Windeatt on behalf of those assembled.
This year's annual Lifetime Achievement Award went to David Atkinson, who is about to retire from Prime Focus after 50 years in the film and video facilities business in which he contributed significantly to numerous restoration projects and archive-based programmes.
It was noted that David's involvement with archives had not been limited to the workplace – he had served for 15 years on the Focal International Executive and numerous other committees, including the BKSTS, SMPTE and the British Standards Institute.
(BMcN/BMcC)