Sky arts channel Artsworld has signed a one-year sponsorship deal with theBritish Film Institute (BFI) to help with the transfer and restoration of 16films to HD quality.

The list of films includesJean-Luc Godard's Sympathy for the Devil; Derek Jarman's Caravaggio and Wittgenstein; Peter Greenaway's The Draughtsman's Contract, A Zed And TwoNoughts, and Four American Composers series; MichaelPowell's The Edge of the World,the Bill Douglas Trilogy; Terence Davies' Distant Voices, Still Lives; 12shorts from the Brothers Quay; and Michael Nyman's 2003 score accompanying Dziga Vertov's Man With A MovieCamera.

Artsworld gets exclusive rights to the 16 films in HDfor a year from Sept 1.

Thismarks the first time the BFI has struck an HD deal with a UK broadcaster.

"This partnership with Artsworld will introduce television audiences to some ofthe treasures of the classic cinema in a format of the highest quality," saidAnthony Minghella, chair of the BFI. "At the sametime, the process of restoring and remastering keytitles to HD preserves them and makes them available for new initiatives suchas the digital screen network launched by the UK Film Council. It's atremendous opportunity.'