Australia’s Silent Film Festival
Tuesday 14 February, 2012 | Justin Niessner
THE best silent films endure as classics – not for their novelty value but because the technical limitations of the era forced filmmakers to be creative.
Craftsmanship and showmanship have a chance to breathe in silent films. The sparseness of the medium means the storytelling is obliged to be relatable and well played. And the special effects (thanks to their simplicity) must wield the magic of a jewellery box ballerina. Everything oozes with the charm of not being of our world. This is movieland.
Nobody knows this better than Australia’s Silent Film Festival, a group that has hosted annual homages to the masterworks of the genre since 2007. Screenings are intimate and usually accompanied by live musicians. This year’s event is reflecting a rapidly growing interest in the genre, thanks to the widely acclaimed new silent The Artist. (Click here to read our review of The Artist.)
From February to April, Australia’s Silent Film Festival will showcase two six-week marathons bookended by a couple of “mini-festivals”. While previous outings for the festival reached down as far as Melbourne, this year’s line-up is staying around Sydney with a notable show up in Newcastle scheduled for late June.
Things kick off this Saturday with a series of restored classics from Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Douglas Fairbanks. Chaplin shorts The Rink (1916) and The Adventurer (1917) will be followed by Keaton’s Steamboat Bill Jr (1928) starting at 11am in the Sutherland Entertainment Centre. The Mark of Zorro (1920) starring swashbuckling film pioneer Douglas Fairbanks will follow at 7.30pm. These presentations will be digital with live musical accompaniment.
The festival starts in earnest later this month with two extended programs. Starting February 21, six movies billed as “Master Directors of the Silent Era” will be screened every Tuesday for six weeks. And as of February 26, six shows under the banner “The Golden Comedy Era of Silent Cinema” will play over six Sunday afternoons. The digital restorations with recorded musical soundtracks will be presented at Govinda’s Movie Room in Darlinghurst. Atmosphere: cosy pillows and cushions.
Master Directors of the Silent Era (Tuesday shows)
| Date | Film | Director |
| February 21 | J’accuse (1919) | Abel Gance |
| February 28 | The Last of the Mohicans (1920) | Maurice Tourneur |
| March 6 | Destiny (1921) | Fritz Lang |
| March 13 | Bardelys the Magnificent (1926) | King Vidor |
| March 20 | By the Law (1926) | Lev Kuleshov |
| March 27 | Captain Fracasse (1929) | Alberto Cavalcanti |
The Golden Comedy Era of Silent Film (Sunday shows)
| Date | Program |
| February 26 |
The Adventurer (1917) Charlie Chaplin short Mighty Like a Moose (1926) Charley Chase short Cops (1922) Buster Keaton short |
| March 4 | Wild and Woolly (1917) starring Douglas Fairbanks |
| March 11 |
"Buster Keaton: comic genius in shorts with a dash of snub!" Neighbours (1920) short The Playhouse (1921) short My Wife’s Relations (1922) short It’s a Gift (1923) short starring Snub Pollard |
| March 18 | The Marriage Circle (1924) directed by Ernst Lubitsch |
| March 25 | The Clinging Vine (1926) produced by Cecil B DeMille |
| April 1 | The Italian Straw Hat (1927) directed by Rene Clair |
An amplified enthusiasm for silent films this year has helped extend the festival’s activities with a session of comedy shorts and a dramatic full-length on June 30 at Newcastle’s Greater Union. Starting at 2pm is a collection of hilariously chaotic sketches about 20 minutes each, including zingers from Chaplin and Keaton. Official festival advice: check out Australian-born Billy Bevan driving his Snoozenburg!
Immediately following these skits will be the feature film Tol’able David (1921) starring popular silent actor Richard Barthelmess. All shows at the Newcastle session will be restored digital productions with live musical accompaniment.
About the musicians
Australia’s Silent Film Festival employs an array of highly respected professional players in its live soundtracking. Musicians regularly performing for festival films are associated with such prestigious organisations as the Theatre Organ Society of Australia, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Vienna’s “Klassik Mania” international opera competition, the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory and Melbourne’s Carols by Candlelight.
For more information about this year’s program, visit the festival’s website. Be aware that much of last year’s information is archived on the site so you’ll need to double check the dates on any given event.
