SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 @ 7:30pm - 10:00pm (Eastern)
SILENT CINEMA NIGHT @ CINÉ
Celebrating National Silent Movie Day
THE MASTERS OF SILENT COMEDY
From the very first short cinematic attractions to short comedies and dramas, some of the first cartoons, and two comic masterpieces by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Brief introductions will be made by UGA Film and Media Scholars Kate Fortmueller, Christopher Sieving and Richard Neupert.
THE FIRST CARTOONS
Animated films from EMILE COHL, WINSOR MCCAY, and early shorts featuring KOKO THE CLOWN, FELIX THE CAT, ALICE, and a previously lost BOBBY BUMPS cartoon rediscovered by UGA’s media archivists.
EARLY CINEMATIC ATTRACTIONS
Included will be an array of rare films from THE LUMIÈRE BROS., GEORGES MÉLIÈS, PATHÉ, BIOGRAPH, & LOIS WEBER. The tribute to early cinema culminates with two important films, Charlie Chaplin’s THE IMMIGRANT (1917, 30 minutes), a great social satire of the era, and Buster Keaton’s SHERLOCK JR. (1924, 45 minutes), called “the perfect silent film,” it follows a movie projectionist who dreams of being a detective as the cinema’s beam of light blurs fantasy and reality.
In observance of the inaugural National Silent Film Day celebration, Athens Ciné will present a 2-hour program of comedies, animation, dramas and experimental shorts from the Silent Film Era (1894 to 1929) in the Ciné Lab screening room on Wednesday, Sept. 29.
Rather than exhibiting the collection of early cinematic works as an example of how far film making technology has come, the curators of the Silent Movie Night show selected movies that show off the variety, imagination and self-awareness that give the era its status as an entirely unique art form.
The Silent Era was also a time when women filmmakers thrived, and Wednesday night's program includes "Eclipse," a 1913 film by the prolific Lois Weber that is credited with pioneering the split screen technique. Though it is estimated that Weber directed as many as 400 movies, only 25 were preserved.
"Looking at silent films and their history as a period that offered more professional opportunities for women in the industry might be a reason today's audiences will find the era fascinating," said Fortmueller.
Other artists' work scheduled to screen at Silent Film Night include the Lumière brothers ("Train," "Glacier"), Georges Méliès ("4 Heads," "Eclipse"), Charlie Chaplin ("The Immigrant") and Buster Keaton ("Sherlock Jr."). Among the animated titles showing is a previously lost "Bobby Bumps" short that was recently discovered in Georgia on 17.5mm film and is unique to the UGA archives.
"There's a self-aware quality to all the movies we'll be showing," said Neupert. "The people who made these were very self-conscious about what they were doing, and it comes across in a variety of playful, comedic and satirical ways."
Visit athenscine.com/silent-movie-night for tickets and show times.