The Cannes Film Festival today announced its program for the Cannes Classics sidebar which aids in the rediscovery of great works via restored prints and theatrical or DVD releases.

This year, the section is presented under the patronage of Andrzej Wajda who will introduce a restored copy of Kanal, winner of the Special Jury Award at Cannes in 1957. Jane Fonda will also be on hand to pay homage to her late father Henry Fonda at a screening of Sidney Lumet's Twelve Angry Men on May 26.

Cannes Classics 2007 will be broken down into three events: The Birth of the World Cinema Foundation, The John Wayne Centenary and Laurence Olivier's Shakespearean films. Documentaries dedicated to Marlon Brando, Maurice Pialat, Pierre Rissient and Lindsay Anderson will also be screened along with 10 restored or new prints of classic films.

The World Cinema Foundation will be launched during a press conference on May 22. Martin Scorsese will introduce Transes by Ahmed Al Maanouni, while Walter Salles will introduce Limit by Mario Peixoto and Cristi Puiu will follow with Forest Of The Hanged by Liviu Ciulei.

The John Wayne Centenary will see the screening of restored versions of John Farrow's Hondo (in 3-D) and Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo.

The Laurence Olivier section will include restored copies of Hamlet, Henry V and Richard III.

Meanwhile restored copies and/or new prints of the following will be screened: Israel Why by Claude Lanzmann, Sank-Ok Shin's Bound By Chastity Rules, My Last Mistress by Sacha Guitry, Mikey And Nicky by Elaine May, Julien Duvivier's Escape From Yesterday, The Garden Of The Finzi-Continis by Vittorio de Sica, Dario Argento's Suspiria, Lotte Reiniger's The Adventures Of Prince Achmed, Terence Fisher's Dracula and Yo Yo by Pierre Etaix.