The $275,000 donation from Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation in partnership with the Hollywood Foreign Press is the largest single donation to the campaign to date.

The BFI’s “Rescue the Hitchcock 9” campaign, a fund-raising initiative to support the restoration of Hitchcock’s nine surviving silent films, has received a donation of $275,000 from Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation, in partnership with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The donation, the campaign’s largest single offering to date, will go towards the restoration of Hitchcock’s early films The Lodger, The Ring, Blackmail and The Pleasure Garden.

Scorsese, who established The Film Foundation in 1990 to protect the history of cinema, said he was “thrilled that these films will be preserved and made available with the best possible prints for audiences to enjoy. Hitchcock remains an enduring influence on world cinema, and these early works provide a wonderful glimpse into the development of his signature style.”

Amanda Nevill, BFI director added: “We are delighted to acknowledge this very generous grant from our friends at The Film Foundation and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Hitchcock belongs not just to Britain but to the world, and we are grateful that so many people share our passion for his work.”