Christmas is about to hit us once again and that means that we are closing up shop for a few weeks whilst we enjoy the festive season (we have been enjoying it quite a bit already to be honest). A big thank you to everyone who came to our special Christmas gathering at 20th Century Flicks a few days ago, it was a really fun night and we are very happy to announce that we are planning to do the same thing next year.
Now before we close up shop we thought we would let you know about the incredible line-up of events planned for early next year. 2015 marks not only 15 years of Bristol Silents but 5 years since the return of the monthly Bristol Silents Club Screenings. Since the return of these special Club Screenings we have been able to continue our pledge to introduce new audiences to silent film via the almost 60 films we have screened. We are happy to say that 2015 will once again give our regular followers the chance to see a selection of silent films that they would not usually be able to see anywhere else on a big screen AND to see these films… FOR FREE!
The first Bristol Silents Club Screening of 2015 will take place on Wednesday 21st January, 7:30pm at the usual screening room upstairs in the Lansdown, Clifton. It is really worth saving the date as we will be celebrating the return of our very own Slapstick Festival which starts up the following morning on Thursday 22nd January. As always, Slapstick Festival celebrates every aspect of silent comedy through the ages; there is always something for everyone whether you are a silent film novice or a die-hard fan.
A few of the events worth noting include Ernst Lubitsch’s wonderful Die Puppe/The Doll (1919), Lost Clowns: Harry Watson Jr: The Mishaps of Musty Suffer and Kevin Brownlow introducing Ladies Night in A Turkish Bath (1928) starring the brilliant James Finlayson; to be honest with a title like that, how can you not want to see that.
Tickets are selling fast for all of the many great events at Slapstick Festival 2015 so get booking now to avoid disappointment!
2015 will also see us taking a trip down to Exeter in April to check out the brilliant Bill Douglas Cinema Museum; the museum is the place to go if you like anything about cinema in general but especially pre and early cinema due to it’s impressive collections and wonderful layout – more information to come early next year about this excellent Exeter trip.
But before all of that it is really worth joining us at a fantastic screening of Walter Summer’s A Couple of Down and Outs (1927) on Thursday 12th February at Bristol Museum…. more info on this very rare screening is coming soon.
Please find below the Bristol Silents line up for early 2015 including all the Club Screenings for the first part of the year. For more regular news and updates on the world of silent film and what we are watching and doing from day to day it is really worth following us on Twitter and Facebook. We have been running a special silent film related advent calender throughout December so worth having a look at that, especially what we have in store for our Christmas Eve window.
But before we sign off for Christmas 2014 we would just like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past year and that we hope you have enjoyed everything that we have been able to offer you over the past few months and we really look forward to seeing you in 2015.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
The Bristol Silents Team.
EARLY 2015 LINEUP: (Please check our events calender for updates)
Wednesday 21st January 2015: Bristol Silents Club Screening: SLAPSTICK 2015 Special: Essanay Film Studios Finest
Intro: Ayşe Behçet (Charlie’s London)
Location: Lansdown Pub, Clifton: 7:15pm: Free Entry
Thursday 22nd – Sunday 25th January 2015: SLAPSTICK FESTIVAL 2015
Thursday 12th February 2015: A COUPLE OF DOWN AND OUTS (1923 / Walter Summers)
LIVE SCORE WITH STEPHEN HORNE
Location: Bristol Museum: Time TBC
Wednesday 18th February 2015: Bristol Silents Club Screening: An Evening of Nostalgia with Silent Borzage
Intro: Norman Taylor (Co-founder of Bristol Silents)
Location: Lansdown Pub, Clifton: 7:15pm: Free Entry
Wednesday 18th March 2015: Bristol Silents Club Screening: Across European Adventure by Motorbike
Intro: Dr Peter Walsh + A Very Special Video Intro!
Location: Lansdown Pub, Clifton: 7:15pm: Free Entry
Wednesday 15th April 2015: Bristol Silents Club Screening: A Celebration of the Italian Strongman
Intro: Tom Vincent (Aardman Animations)
Location: Lansdown Pub, Clifton: 7:15pm: Free Entry
Saturday 25th April 2015: Bristol Silents Exclusive Tour: The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, Exeter
More info coming soon.
Wednesday 20th May 2015: Bristol Silents Club Screening: TBC
Intro: TBC
Location: Lansdown Pub, Clifton: 7:15pm: Free Entry
A TRAP FOR SANTA (1909)
Bristol Silents 