The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is a film festival first held in 1996 and presented annually at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California, United States. It is the largest silent film festival in the United States, although the largest silent film festival in the world remains the Giornate del cinema muto in

Pordenone Pordenone (; Venetian and fur, Pordenon) is the main ''comune'' of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The name comes from Latin ''Portus Naonis'', meaning 'port on the Noncello (Latin ''Naon'') River'. ...

, northern Italy. The 25th annual festival was held May 5 to May 11, 2021 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco.

History

The 16th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival was held at the Castro Theatre July 14–17, 2011, featuring 18 programs of films and presentations, all with live accompaniment by the foremost silent film musicians in the world. The festival opened with the new restoration of '' Upstream'' (1927) directed by John Ford and brought back last year to the U.S. from the New Zealand Film Archive, where it was discovered. As part of a collaboration between the Silent Film Festival and the Headlands Center for the Arts, the Matti Bye Ensemble performed three original commissioned scores to Mauritz Stiller's '' The Blizzard'',

Herbert Ponting Herbert George Ponting, FRGS (21 March 1870 – 7 February 1935) was a professional photographer. He is best known as the expedition photographer and cinematographer for Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to the Ross Sea and Sout ...

's '' The Great White Silence'', and the Closing Night Film, Victor Sjöström's '' He Who Gets Slapped''. The festival's Visiting Director was

Alexander Payne Constantine Alexander Payne (; born February 10, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for the films ''Citizen Ruth'' (1996), ''Election'' (1999), ''About Schmidt'' (2002), ''Sideways'' (2004), ''The Desc ...

. On July 14, 2011, the Silent Film Festival announced their presentation, in association with American Zoetrope, The Film Preserve,

Photoplay Productions Photoplay Productions is an independent film company, based in the UK, under the direction of Kevin Brownlow and Patrick Stanbury. Is one of the few independent companies to operate in the revival of interest in the lost world of silent cinema a ...

, and British Film Institute, of

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director and producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J ...

's ''

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

'' in March 2012 at the

Paramount Theatre Paramount Theater or Paramount Theatre may refer to: Canada * Scotiabank Theatre or Paramount Theatre, a chain of theatres owned by Cineplex Entertainment ** Scotiabank Theatre Toronto or Paramount Theatre Toronto China * Paramount (Shanghai) o ...

Oakland. The presentation features the U.S. premiere of the complete restoration by Kevin Brownlow and the U.S. premiere of Carl Davis' orchestral score, with Davis conducting members of the Oakland East Bay Symphony. The film's famous triptych sequences was shown in full Polyvision, with three simultaneous projectors and a 70-foot screen. ''

'' had not been screened theatrically in the U.S. with live orchestra for nearly 30 years. In 2006, the festival added a one-day "Winter Event". On February 14, 2009, the 4th Winter Event presented the rarely seen '' A Kiss From Mary Pickford'' (1927) along with three other silent feature films. The 6th Annual Winter Event on February 12, 2011 featured the Marcel L'Herbier film '' L'Argent'' and three short films by

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

: '' The Rink'', '' The Adventurer'', and ''The Pawn Shop''. The Silent Film Festival includes a focus on film preservation. Each year the festival includes a free program titled "Amazing Tales From the Archives," during which film archivists screen and discuss rare and newly restored films and fragments. The festival also offers an annual Film Preservation Fellowship to a student at The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation, George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. The recipient of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival Preservation Fellowship works on restoring a short film from the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection, and then screens the preserved film at the San Francisco festival.The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation
/ref> Over the years, many people active in the film industry during the silent era, such as Fay Wray and Diana Serra Cary (aka "Baby Peggy"), have appeared in person at the Festival, in addition to those such as Sydney Chaplin whose family did. Live music is presented with each film, with pianists Stephen Horne and Donald Sosin, organist Dennis James, and the ensembles Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra and the Matti Bye Ensemble among the frequent performers. The advisory committee for the festival includes such noted names as Kevin Brownlow, Bruce Goldstein, Guy Maddin, Leonard Maltin,

Lee Mendelson Leland Maurice Mendelson (March 24, 1933 – December 25, 2019) was an American animation producer and the executive producer of the many ''Peanuts'' animated specials. Biography Mendelson was born in San Francisco and grew up in San Mateo gra ...

, David Shepard, Paolo Cherchi Usai, and Terry Zwigoff, as well as festival founders Melissa Chittick and Stephen Salmons. Currently, the Executive Director is Stacey Wisnia and the Artistic Director is Anita Monga.

Notes

External links

Official websiteOfficial blog
{{Authority control Film festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area Film festivals established in 1996 1996 establishments in California FIAF-affiliated institutions