The 16th Film Noir Festival opened in Hollywood with a screening of the 1949 film Too Late for Tears, which was restored with the help of financial support from the HFPA. Eddie Muller, the FNF President, acknowledged the contribution of the HFPA in a brief talk before the screening at the historic Egyptian Theater. It was a particularly difficult project he said, because there was no complete print to work from. Mr. Muller thanked the HFPA for donating the last portion of the budget, restoring what he called " the best film noir movie no one has seen" and helping the project over the goal line. Yoram Kahana, Chairman of the Board of the HFPA, congratulated the Film Noir Foundation and welcomed the audience to enjoy the results of the first collaboration between the HFPA and the FNF, expressing the hope that this restoration will be the first in a continuing cooperation. The next project under consideration is Woman on the Run [1950], starring Ann Sheridan and Dennis O'Keefe. The Film Noir Festival, which features foreign noirs as well as USA productions, continues with screenings of such foreign classics as Luchino Visconti's first masterpiece, Ossesione (a stunning hybrid of noir and neorealism, it is a gritty, earthy and unlicensed adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice), followed by a double feature of Latin American themed noirs by Argentinian director Hugo Fregonese , Hardly a Criminal and One Way Street. Another double bill is based on books by legendary noir author, David Goodis. One of them, And Hope to Die, was directed by French master René Clement and starred Jean-Louis Trintignant. Later this year the festival, featuring Too Late for Tears will play in Chicago. Seattle and Washington, D.C. —Yoram Kahana