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By Raul Ayrala. Peninsula 360 Press
In 1978, more than five hundred Hollywood film reels were discovered buried in the permafrost of a former hockey rink in Dawson City, Canada.
They were silent films from between 1903 and 1929, and had been stored there to stabilise the surface of the pitch. Because of the distance, the local cinema did not return the copies to the distributors as was usual.
In 2008, a 16mm copy of a silent film from 1927 that had been incomplete for decades was discovered in a film museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was Metropolis, by Fritz Lang. A work of art that inspired the science fiction creations that came after: Blade Runner, Fahrenheit 451, Star Wars…
Part of the treasure from Dawson City and the rediscovered scenes from Metropolis have been restored. One of the festivals that showcased Fritz Lang's expressionist gem is the second largest in the world: the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, whose 2024 edition begins this Wednesday, April 10.
Although it is only a five-day festival, the Silent Film Festival is a task that keeps the members of the organization that presents it busy throughout the year, because many of the films that are shown are restored by the members themselves.
Some 75 percent of all silent films ever produced are lost; a significant amount of the rest can be found on YouTube, for example.
But the wonderful thing about this Festival is that the presentations are in a real movie theater, with the film restored and accompanied by live musicians. Just like a spectator experienced watching a silent film in the 1920s. And for those of us who still have trouble following a sound projection in English, the best thing is that there are “intertitles,” descriptions of the action between scenes.
This year, the Festival kicks off on Wednesday 10th at 7:30pm with a rarity among rarities: The Black Pirate with Douglas Fairbanks, from 1926, and in Technicolor!
It was restored by MoMA “in the original color palette, inspired by Dutch master painters.”
It is no coincidence, then, that for the first time this year the Festival is being held at the Palacio de Bellas Artes cinema, very close to the Golden Gate Bridge. Previous editions were held at the Castro cinema, which unfortunately is no longer available because it is being converted into a venue for musical performances, not without controversy.
Between Thursday 11th and Sunday 14th, performances begin at 11 or 10 in the morning depending on the day, and the last performance is always at 8 at night.
There is a great variety: humour in Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr. and Charles Chaplin's brother, Syd, in Oh! What a nurse! (a little-known man, but notable for playing roles in which he dressed as a woman); international films such as the Soviet-Ukrainian The Opportunist from 1929 or the Swedish Haxan; and samples of proto-Hollywood such as The Lady with Norma Talmadge or The Red Mark from 1928, which closes the Festival on Sunday at 8 pm.
Tickets cost between $18 and $25 depending on the film, and children under 12 are admitted free. Passes can also be purchased at www.silentfilm.org or at the box office.
The Latin touch will be provided by Cochinita's lunch counter, which will be offering Yucatecan food in front of the Festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
What: 2024 San Francisco Silent Film Festival
Where: Palace of Fine Arts Cinema, 3601 Lyon Street, San Francisco Silentfilmfestival.org
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