#Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema

[silentlondon]

The Silent London Poll of 2022: And the winners are …

Well done everyone! The Silent London Poll of 2022 had a record-breaking number of votes, and the winners reflect a thriving, international silent film scene. Congratulations to all the people mentioned below, some of these categories were bursting with great nominations. Thank you for all your votes. And for making me blub a little when I was typing this up. Without further ado, let me open…

[silverfoxstole]

More from Hippfest Silent Film Festival at the Hippodrome Cinema in Falkirk, Sunday 20th March 2022.

[notesonfilm1]

Thinking Aloud About Film: Hippodrome Silent Film Festival 2023 Bo'Ness

Intrepid investigative journalist Richard Layne returns to the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival to report on the films and the glamour of Silent Cinema in Bo’Ness, a model of what place and event can do together: a site of scholarship, restoration, fandom and even the commission of aspects of production, bringing together a cultural intersection of the local and the international. An unmissable…

[reviewsphere]

10th HIPPODROME Silent Film Festival 2020 PROGRAMME

10th HIPPODROME SILENT FILM FESTIVAL 2020 PROGRAMME @HippFestScot @FCTrust @DodgeBrothers @KermodeMovie @NeilKBrand @MegMorley1 @NFSAonline @Wee_Stories @scotsonscreen @FilmArchivesUK #silentfilm #steampunk #Hippodrome

The Hippodrome Silent Film Festival (18-22 March) celebrates the new Roaring Twenties – in 2020!

Falkirk Community Trust announced details of its 10th Silent Film Festival, held at Scotland’s oldest purpose-built cinema in Bo’ness. Affectionately known as ‘HippFest’ this annual event is Scotland’s only festival dedicated to silent film – recently scooping two accolades in the international Silent…

[theedinburghreporter]

HippFest 2019 - begins on Wednesday

HippFest 2019 – begins on Wednesday

On Wednesday 20 March the 9th Hippodrome Silent Film Festival begins at the Hippodrome in Bo’ness.

Affectionately known as ‘HippFest’ this annual festival run by Falkirk Community Trust, is packed with film gems from the silent-era, talks on early cinema pioneers and world-class live music.

International Highlights include The Red Heroine (1929) – the oldest surviving Chinese martial arts…

[lewishamledger]

Keeping it reel

Catford Film Club hosts regular sell-out film nights, workshops for budding producers and even a free film festival. Founder Keith Arnold tells us how the community-led club has reconnected SE6 to the silver screen  

Words: Emma Finamore

Photo: Lima Charlie 

Just over 100 years ago, a prominent Italian film distributor called the Marquis Serra launched Catford Studios on the corner of Bromley Road and Whitefoot Lane, where it was based from 1914-21.

Home to the Windsor Film Company, it produced a number of films during the First World War, including silent movie Tom Brown’s School Days and an adaptation of Edgar Wallace’s novel The Man Who Bought London, both released in 1916.

Another of its productions in 1919, titled Not Guilty and Fettered, was described by one film historian as a “sophisticated melodrama with a leaning towards sex and sensation”.

Catford residents of the time could watch films locally at the Electric Picture Palace, which opened at 8 Sangley Road (now a block of flats) in 1909 and welcomed audiences for the next five years.

Its operator, James Watt, also launched the Central Hall Picture House in 1913 on the corner of Sangley and Bromley roads. Renamed the Plaza Cinema in 1932, it was taken over by Union Cinemas and then Associated British Cinemas (ABC) in 1937.

Over the years it screened all the box office hits of the day, including Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961 and Superman II 20 years later, before closing in the early 2000s. The building is now home to Christian church and charity UCKG.

Just down the road at 135-137 Rushey Green, the Lewisham Hippodrome was converted into a cinema in 1927 before turning back into a music hall. It then became the Eros Cinema in 1952, but screened its last film, Demons of the Swamp, in 1959.

Next door, rival screen The Gaumont, known as the Queen’s Hall Cinema when it opened in 1913, closed its doors on the same day. Both buildings were knocked down and the site is now occupied by brutalist grade-II-listed tower block Eros House.  

With so many cinematic gems consigned to the history books, it seemed like SE6 might never play host to the silver screen again. But today the area’s relationship with film is flourishing once more, thanks to Catford Film Club.  

Founded by local resident Keith Arnold in October 2015, it has gone from putting on low-key screenings to organising sold-out shows, festivals, workshops and even helping budding filmmakers take their first steps in the industry.

The club began with a screening of 1988 Italian drama, Cinema Paradiso, at the Catford Constitutional Club. Keith, who has a long professional background in film, says: “I had a goal – I wanted to create the perception that Catford is a place for film.”

That one-off screening at the Constitutional turned into five more, and soon Keith put on an ambitious outdoor screening on Culverley Green: a singalong showing of the rock ’n’ roll classic musical Grease.

It aired complete with food and drinks stands, on-screen lyrics for the audience and a proper sound system, helped along by a cash injection from the Catford South Local Assembly fund.

Since then, thanks to Keith and a small but dedicated team of local film-loving volunteers, Catford Film Club has gone to strength to strength and has screened a healthy mix of mainstream movies and independent features.

“The first screening was upstairs at the Constitutional,” says Keith. “That held about 40 people, and after six months we got too big. Now we get 250 people coming to films.”

The month we meet, the group are showing Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (a moving and darkly comic drama from 2017) and Keith reels off some of the other memorable films they’ve shown recently.

They include The Death of Stalin, Hidden Figures, I, Daniel Blake and He Named Me Malala – a documentary about Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who became the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

A recent highlight Keith recalls was a screening of They Will Have to Kill Us First, a documentary about Islamic jihadists’ ban on music in most of Mali, which saw radio stations destroyed and instruments burned. Musicians faced torture or even death.

The screening was accompanied by a Q&A with the filmmaker’s director, Johanna Schwartz. “I just got in touch with her on Twitter,” says Keith. “She said yes, then all I had to do was pay for a cab across town.”

This grassroots, communal approach is what Catford Film Club is all about. “Everyone’s really good and it all works really well,” says Keith. “There are no big egos – it’s very organic.”

It seems very natural for Keith to be involved in a project like this too, given his professional history, which saw him work for 15 years as an independent film producer.

The films were “low budget, but good enough to go out to film festivals”, he says – and were screened at places like London Film Festival, the Washougal International Film Festival and Cannes.

As well as producing and directing independent films, Keith has worked on documentaries (as well as spoof documentaries), horror shorts, music videos and even did special effects on the 1999 James Bond film, The World is Not Enough.

“When I started Catford Film I wanted to make it a place for film, but the idea also came from not having anywhere to show my own films,” he says. “I knew I wanted it to lead up to a film festival, and we managed it in the first nine months.”

The inaugural Catford Free Film Festival – from the team behind Catford Film Club – took place in September 2016 and even in its first incarnation, it was an ambitious event.

There were daily screenings at different Catford venues, filmmaking workshops, children’s activities and a “shorts night” with independent short films, Q&As with the filmmakers and live music.

“The first night of the festival I managed to persuade Catford Broadway [theatre] to give us the venue for free,” says Keith. “The NHS Choir came down on the same night too. It was amazing really – I had to get up and introduce the film, and actually it was my birthday, so the choir dedicated a song to me.”

It seems fitting that the festival opened on a personal note for Keith: he’s lived in the area since moving to Catford from Forest Hill 25 years ago, and wanted to give something back to his community.

“I really like the vibe now,” he says. “For a long time it needed some life – it needed something going on. And now there is, and it feels like Catford Film Club is part of that. Bars, restaurants, arts events – we’ve connected to everyone.”

Keith is proud of what the club has done for the area. “In September Catford becomes a real cultural hub, and we’re a big part of that. I feel like we’ve connected a lot of people together.

“We’ve done so much – two years of filmmaking workshops – editing, creating, scriptwriting, acting – and it’s all free. You have to book a ticket but it’s free, everything is open to anyone.”

An example of how the club has given back to the community is the festival’s annual film challenge. Entrants of all ages are given details such as title and genre – sci-fi, musical, comedy, for example – and have to make a film within a set time frame.

For the last two years it has been 72 hours, but this year Keith plans to reduce that to just 48. The event gives local people a chance to make work in an exciting, challenging way. For some it’s a bit of fun, while for others it’s opening doors to new careers.

“The person who made the winning film last year is now producing his second film,” says Keith. “While he was taking part in the challenge, the Catford regeneration team started documented his work, now they’re supporting him in making a second.”

The team have a busy summer ahead, which will see Catford Film Club continuing to put on screenings and fun events across the area. “It’s going really well,” smiles Keith.

“We do loads of ad hoc screenings on Catford Broadway, like La La Land – we got Electric Pedals [which powers events like festivals, theatres, and film screenings via electricity generated by stationary bikes] and the audience powered the whole thing.”

In June there will also be a shorts night as part of the first ever Catford Fringe Festival, which will feature two hours of short films, with a mix of comedy, drama and sci-fi.

There will be African dance workshops, youth theatre, the London Gypsy Orchestra will perform and visitors can also look forward to a set from hip-hop turntablist, DJ Yoda.

It speaks to something that Keith feels he and his group have been a part of: that Catford is the home of a bourgeoning, and exciting, creative scene. They are now working on the third Catford Free Film Festival, which takes place in September.

Keith says the planning might be a bit more of a challenge this time around, as the grant the group used to bid for is no longer match-funded, so they need to find more cash and are looking for local sponsor.

But he says the group’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts have taken off quite a lot in the last year, which is useful for word-of-mouth advertising – and he’s sure they’ll pull the cat out of the bag: they’ve managed to with everything else.

Keith’s confidence and pride in the Catford Film Club comes from a real love of film. In addition to showing crowd-pleasers (albeit high quality ones) he and the team are mindful to bring audiences an array of genres and budgets.

Keith sees what they do very much through the lens of someone who has always worked in independent film. “I’m very protective of our industry and of our group,” he says. “We are independent and we are doing our own thing.”

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If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the 2018 Catford Free Film Festival please contact Keith at keith.arnold7@btinternet.com. To donate towards the event, go to facebook.com/catfordfilm

[babyburrd]

Spending the weekend in monochrome at the Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema 🎞📽🎬 (at Hippodrome Cinema, Bo'ness)

[kerkevik]

(via Back in Bo’ness: the 2017 Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema)

[silentlondon]

The Silent London Poll of 2023: And the winners are …

I may be a humble blogger typing at my desk, but just imagine I am a glamorous celebrity cracking first-rate jokes while wearing a designer ballgown. I have counted the votes, and I am ready to announce the winners of the Silent London Poll of 2023! Congratulations to all the people mentioned below – as ever, these categories were bursting with great nominations. Thank you for all your votes,…

[silentlondon]

Frances Marion for Hippfest at Home

Hippfest approaches! But before the IRL festival in Bo’ness, 20-24 March, the Hippfest at Home programme promises online treats for you to enjoy in the comfort of your own home. And the first event is coming up very soon indeed! Next Friday evening, 26 January, I will be delivering a lecture called Frances Marion: Hollywood’s Favourite Storyteller, with clips accompanied by the brilliant Mike…

[silentlondon]

Hippfest hooray: the 2023 programme launches today

Good news, Silent Londoners. Today is the day that Hippodrome Silent Film Festival announces the lineup for its 2023 edition! As previously reported, the event runs 22-26 March 2023 and this year, there are festival passes available for the dedicated Hippfest die-hards. The best of people, in other words. As I say, the full lineup goes live today, and you will be able to browse it at your…

[silentlondon]

Hippfest 2023: passes, podcasts and more

Hippfest 2023: passes, podcasts and more

Save the date, Silent Londoners, The Scottish silent film festival with the warmest welcome in the world is back in 2023. The Hippodrome Silent Film Festival at Scotland’s oldest purpose-built cinema, the Hippodrome in Bo’ness, will take place Wednesday 22 to Sunday 26 March 2023. The full programme and tickets will be released on Tuesday 7 February. Not too long to wait. But there’s more news.…

[silentlondon]

Silent bulletin: news for September 2024

Back to school time! Here’s a roundup of the silent movie news I really want to share with you as summer turns into autumn. Just think how many of these forthcoming delights you could enjoy for less than the cost of a dynamically priced Oasis ticket. Screenings and festivals I missed StummFilmTage Bonn this year again – both in person and online. But Paul Joyce and Paul Cuff both kept us up to…

[silentlondon]

Hippfest 2019: The Hippodrome Silent Film Festival

Hippfest 2019: The Hippodrome Silent Film Festival

Hipp, Hipp, hooray, it’s Hippfest programme launch day. You can now head over to the Hippfest website to read the full lineup for one of my very favourite silent film festivals. And book your tickets while you’re at it – over the years I’ve learned that popular events at Hippfest can and will sell out. Hippfest is just less than two months away, running 20-24 March, 2019 so you want to move…

[silentlondon]

The Silent London Poll of 2021: And the winners are …

The Silent London Poll of 2021: And the winners are …

It may already feel like a long time ago, but 2021 was one heck of a year. We were online, we were in-venue, sometimes we were both. But we were all grateful for the films, and the music. Below, it gives me great pleasure to reveal your chosen favourites, and a selection of your insightful and amusing comments too. Thank you for your votes. Here are your winners! Best real-world silent film…

[silentlondon]

Hippfest 2021's star-studded online lineup: Valentino, Pickford, Robeson, Brooks & Dietrich

Hippfest 2021’s star-studded online lineup: Valentino, Pickford, Robeson, Brooks & Dietrich

Hip-hip hooray, it’s Hippfest programme announcement day. News that arrives like a sweet, sweet vaccination into the veins of a drizzly February. While personally I am sorry not to be watching these films in the warm embrace of the Hippodrome this year, the lineup is immense, and I delighted to tell you that the films will be available to stream not only in the UK, but also in Europe and North…