2022

That statement by pioneer Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov kept reverberating in my brain after my prime movie experience of 1996—watching his silent extravaganza Man with a Movie Camera (1929), with a score performed live by the astonishing three-man Alloy Orchestra, at the 1,500-seat Castro movie … [Read more...] about 25 Years: “Long live the consciousness of the pure who can see and hear!”

I’ve had so many memorable experiences at the festival it’s hard to pick just one. Interviewing William Wyler’s three daughters on stage before the 2010 screening of The Shakedown is hard to top, but the one that springs to mind is the 2016 showing of Varieté with the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra … [Read more...] about 25 Years: At the Movies

It’s embarrassing to admit I’ve only attended the San Francisco Silent Film Festival twice, thereby proving once again the truism “you only regret the things you didn’t do.” Given this shocking state of affairs, I don’t feel qualified to recount one memory, or one favorite event. Instead I’ll … [Read more...] about 25 Years: Kindred Souls

Congratulations SFSFF on twenty-five glorious years! It’s difficult to pick just one memory to highlight from all of the magnificent experiences I’ve had at the festival over the years. I’ve seen so many astonishing films, heard so much breathtaking musical accompaniment, and met so many wonderful … [Read more...] about 25 Years: Introducing Lois Weber

Less than half of the Swedish silent fiction film production has survived to our day and age, but every now and then a previously thought lost film turns up on a shelf in another archive as uncatalogued elements are being inspected and identified, or in more unlikely places such as in an attic of a … [Read more...] about 25 Years: Coloring in the Frames

Watching Abel Gance’s Napoleon at the Paramount was an experience I still think about more than ten years later. Great live music—and the three-screen “Polyvision” ending was unforgettable! Then again, it’s hard to beat Buster Keaton. Buster and Felix the Cat was a great pairing. Oh, but what about … [Read more...] about 25 Years: Hats Off to Live Cinema!

There’s much to love about the festival. The Castro Theatre is a treasure, the staff and volunteers are welcoming, the programming is an entertaining mix of the familiar and new discoveries, the sponsors, donors, and board members are truly invested in the festival’s success, and the variety of … [Read more...] about 25 Years: Know Your Audience

I grew up watching silent films at fairgrounds, on PBS, on 8mm and gravitated toward silent comedies and loved learning about how they were made. I particularly admired Buster Keaton and was impressed with how his comedy made me feel because he never smiled, and I appreciated the artistry of that … [Read more...] about 25 Years: VARIETÉ Come to Life