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San Francisco Silent Film Festival

San Francisco Silent Film Festival

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about silent film as an art form and as a culturally valuable historical record.

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anita

July 23, 2023 By anita

Nicholas White

Chicago-based musician Nicholas White has amassed the largest number of antique traps (whistles, blocks, bells, ratchets, anvils, and all manner of delightfully specific noisemakers to perform sound effects for silent movies) in the world, along the way researching exactly how they were put to use. … [Read more...] about Nicholas White

Filed Under: Musicians at SFSFF, Uncategorized

July 23, 2023 By anita

Crossover Artist: Maud Nelissen Plays It All

Published in conjunction with the screening of The Merry Widow at SFSFF 2023 When Dutch composer and pianist Maud Nelissen was commissioned to write accompaniment for Erich von Stroheim’s The Merry Widow, the first thing she did was look for the original score. But the music by William Axt and … [Read more...] about Crossover Artist: Maud Nelissen Plays It All

Filed Under: Interview

July 23, 2023 By anita

Stefan Drössler Works His Magic

Stefan Drössler received the 2023 SFSFF Award for commitment to the preservation and presentation of silent cinema at the screening of A Daughter of Destiny at SFSFF 2023 World cinema owes an incalculable debt to Germany. Some of the greatest and most iconic treasures ever committed to film come … [Read more...] about Stefan Drössler Works His Magic

Filed Under: Interview

July 23, 2023 By anita

Wonder Horses of the Silent Screen

Published in conjunction with the screening of Kentucky Pride at SFSFF 2023 “Can you ride?” An acting manual from 1922 warned wannabe movie stars that this would be among the first questions asked when they applied at motion picture studios. As a matter of fact, there was every chance that a … [Read more...] about Wonder Horses of the Silent Screen

Filed Under: Feature

July 23, 2023 By anita

A Pungent Presence: Valeska Gert in Silent Film

Published in conjunction with the screening of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at SFSFF 2023 As  the projectionist changed reels, Valeska Gert held completely still, her arms raised. Through her Weimar-era piece “Pause,” the Berlin-born dancer associated her body with the material basis of film. Gert … [Read more...] about A Pungent Presence: Valeska Gert in Silent Film

Filed Under: Feature

July 23, 2023 By anita

Tsuru Aoki: Sketch of an Artist

Published in conjunction with the screening of The Dragon Painter at SFSFF 2023 Her career often overshadowed by her husband’s, Tsuru Aoki has a legacy of her own as one of the first Japanese actresses on film and the first to become a star. She comes from a rich acting pedigree: her uncle, … [Read more...] about Tsuru Aoki: Sketch of an Artist

Filed Under: Feature

July 23, 2023 By anita

Keaton and His Cameraman

This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of Three Ages at SFSFF 2023 Born in 1883 in a small town in Missouri, Elgin Lessley was the son of a Civil War veteran and a milliner. In his teens he developed a keen eye for still photography and in 1911 he became a cameraman for the … [Read more...] about Keaton and His Cameraman

Filed Under: Feature

July 22, 2023 By anita

Dancing in the Silents

Published in conjunction with the screening of Padlocked at SFSFF 2023 Dance and dancers have been on our screens since the very beginning. Think of the two men waltzing to the accompaniment of a violin in that early experimental Edison sound film. Performers from vaudeville, music hall, variety, … [Read more...] about Dancing in the Silents

Filed Under: Feature

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