This section reflects the GIFF’s intention to discover the meaning of not only restored films but also the work of restoration itself, and thus explore the historical, aesthetic, social, and technological contexts of restored works. Ultimately, the festival seeks to discover the circular structure of production and reproduction moving from films, restoration to audiences. Indeed, the chemical or digital restoration of a print is of great significance. However, the restoration of a film goes beyond restoration to its original state to cast a new light on the work and create new memories for the audience. Introduced in this section, Center Stage: Director's Cut is an example of restoring a film by inserting scenes absent in the original version, and re-editing it to create a new version for contemporary audiences. Restoration can thus be said to be another creative process.
This year's Re: Discover line-up consists of the following films: Hong Kong New Wave's leading director, Stanley Kwan's Center Stage: Director's Cut; I Know Where I'm Going!, co-directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, a rare collaboration that was hard to see in Korea, restored into 4K; Hiruko the Goblin by Japanese genius director Tsukamoto Shinya, restored into 2K to commemorate the 30th anniversary of its release.