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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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Feature

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

July 22, 2023 By anita

Edwardian-era Eye Candy

Published in conjunction with the screening of Up in Mabel’s Room at SFSFF 2023 Playful, perky, and mischievous, these swim-ready gals were the pinup models of the World War I generation, sighed over by countless young men, no doubt some young women, and probably a few of their parents, too. As … [Read more...] about Edwardian-era Eye Candy

Filed Under: Feature

April 1, 2020 By anita

How to Kill a Villain

This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Phantom of the Opera at A Day of Silents 2019 The version of The Phantom of the Opera that we see today does not share the melancholy ending of Gaston Leroux’s source novel. A villain dying of a broken heart did not satisfy … [Read more...] about How to Kill a Villain

Filed Under: Feature

April 1, 2020 By anita

Acting Like Lubitsch

This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Marriage Circle at A Day of Silents 2019 A stage actor before he was a film director Ernst Lubitsch was notorious for acting out the roles for his performers down to the smallest gesture. As exasperating as it may have been to … [Read more...] about Acting Like Lubitsch

Filed Under: Feature

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