Each year, a festival in Bologna, Italy, called Il Cinema Ritrovato showcases hundreds of rare and restored films. This month, two friends, cinephiles and co-curators are bringing 13 of them to the Twin Cities. Maggie Hennefeld, a University of Minnesota professor, and Michelle Baroody, film programming curator for the Mizna arts organization, have distinct academic interests.

Hennefeld specializes in silent film and its funny female stars. Baroody concentrates on contemporary Arab cinema. But both delight in bringing rare films to big screens. "Our goal is always to bring stuff that we just don't think would make it here otherwise," said Baroody, of their organization Archives on Screen, Twin Cities. "We're not trying to take over the repertory scene — we want to add to it, because we think more movies is always better."