Alongside Scorsese at the press conference were a number of the filmmakers serving as the Foundation’s board of advisors, including Fatih Akin, Souleymane Cisse, Stephen Frears, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Ermanno Olmi, Walter Salles, Abderrahmane Sissako, and Wong Kar Wai.

The foundation will aim to earmark ignored or orphaned films from around the world. Scorsese explained that one of the reasons he sought to launch the foundation is its ability to tackle cultural and political divides. The filmmakers also emphasized the importance of developing a network of cinematheques around the world that would screen the preserved films before they are released on DVD.

Recalling the impact of seeing foreign films as a child, he noted, "this opened up a whole world to me, foreign films on television introduced me to so many cultures."

"Familiarity of other cultures through cinema can hopefully bring about a level of political understanding," Scorsese said at the Cannes press conference, "First come the films and than you want to know more about the people who made the picture."

Agreeing with Scorsese, filmmaker Walter Salles added, "Cinema is a fabulous instrument to make us understand our own differences but also our own mutual connecting points."

The World Cinema Foundation is backing three films screening here in Cannes, including Ahmed El Maanouni’s “Transes” from Brazil, Mario Peixoto’s “Limit” from Brazil, and Liviu Ciulei’s “Forest of the Hanged” from Romania.

  [Peter Knegt contributed to this story.]