September 29th is the very first National Silent Movie Day, a great initiative launched by three dedicated film archivists and/or activists: Brandee B. Cox from the Academy Archive, Chad Hunter from Video Trust and the Pittsburgh Silent Film Society and Steven K. Hill from UCLA. “It seems like there is a national day for almost everything,” says Hunter in the official announcement, “and we thought, why not silent movies? We were actually sort of surprised there wasn’t already one.” This is exactly the kind of activist spirit we need right now in the world of cinema. The day will be celebrated with screenings and events at venues across the country (I know that Bruce Goldstein is planning something special for Film Forum here in New York) and, of course, on TCM, with a full day of great programming.

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