Silent Film Festival

This week end a Silent Film Festival is being held in Killruddery House which is situated 20 kms south of Dublin, just beyond Bray in Co. Wicklow. The full programme is varied and interesting, these are some of the highlights.

Friday 13 March: Down Wicklow Way, Programme from the IFI Irish Film Archive / 6.15pm / €15. Sunniva O’Flynn (Curator of the Irish Film Institute) will present a selection of silent films made in and around Wicklow in the 1920s, 30s and 40s which are now preserved in the Irish Film Archive. Live piano accompaniment by Josh Johnston.

Saturday 14 March 11.00am: The Adventures of Prince Achmed made in Germany in 1926, 60mins, € 15. Lotte Reiniger’s elegant masterpiece is acknowledged as the first ever animated feature and uses shadow animation to tell a captivating story of kind ogres, magical flying horses and wicked magicians. Live piano accompaniment by Stephen Horne.

Saturday 5.30pm: Flesh and the Devil by Clarence Brown made in the U.S.A. in 1926, 112mins, €25. One of the few films to capture completely the magic of Greta Garbo, this film depicts a passionate romance between Garbo and John Gilbert (a romance that was also playing out in real terms). Live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne.

Saturday 8.15pm: Sunrise Made in the U.S.A in 1927, 96mins, €25. Murnau’s magnificent film is not only one of the masterpieces of the silent period but is one of the most remarkable films ever produced. It screens here with its original score.

Sunday 15 March 4.00pm : Talk ‘An Introduction to the Silent Era’, 60mins, €20. An illustrated introduction to the silent film period with Special Guest to the festival Mr. Kevin Brownlow.

I probably won't make any of it in spite of being retired.