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24-27 AUGUST<br />

SHANG CINEPLEX, SHANGRI-LA PLAZA, MANDALUYONG CITY


6TH INTERNATIONAL SILENT FILM FESTIVAL | MANILA<br />

INTRODUCTION<br />

RICHARD KÜNZEL 2007<br />

Since its inauguration in the year 2007 by the three<br />

founding partners Goethe-Institut, Instituto Cervantes and<br />

<strong>Japan</strong> <strong>Foundation</strong>, the <strong>Silent</strong> <strong>Film</strong> Festival grew fast during the<br />

following years, when the Embassies of the Czech Republic,<br />

France, Italy, and later Greece joined the group: In 2008 we were<br />

able to show 6 silent black and white films from the years 1914<br />

until 1933, accompanied live by 6 different Filipino groups of<br />

talented musicians.<br />

With the film THE BRIDES OF SULU we welcomed last year<br />

the first participation of a silent film from the Philippines and<br />

a group of musicians from Mindanao – thanks to the un-tiring<br />

research work of our friend, film historian and film enthusiast<br />

Teddy Co. Subsequently, silent films from the Philippines will<br />

continue to shape the face of this festival in this year with two<br />

entries by Raymond Red: “PELIKULA” (1985) and ETERNITY<br />

(1983).<br />

On behalf of my American, Italian, <strong>Japan</strong>ese and Spanish<br />

fellow organizers, I am proud to announce the participation of<br />

our new festival partner, the <strong>Film</strong> Development Council of the<br />

Philippines. With its Chairman, Mr. Briccio Santos, we signed<br />

last month a Memorandum of Agreement on cooperation in<br />

this exciting field of films, characterized by a very special film<br />

language that revives the charm of a long forgotten time with<br />

the help of very creative Filipino musicians and which pays<br />

tribute to a unique heritage of film culture by our Filipino and<br />

international partners involved.<br />

By the way, 100 years ago from today’s opening of the <strong>6th</strong><br />

International <strong>Silent</strong> <strong>Film</strong> Festival in Manila, the first full length<br />

feature film for theatrical release produced by the Philippines<br />

LA VIDA DE RIZAL, written and directed by Edward Meyer Gross<br />

had its world premiere on August 23, 1912.<br />

Last but not least, allow me to express our gratitude and<br />

thanks to the long standing excellent partnership with the<br />

management of the Shang Cineplex at Shangri-la Edsa.<br />

Wishing you all exciting viewings of the precious films being<br />

shown in the festival,<br />

Richard Künzel<br />

Director<br />

Goethe-Institut Philippinen<br />

SILENT FILM FESTIVAL TIMELINE<br />

ITALY<br />

Cabiria (1914)<br />

Music by<br />

Caliph8 (with Malek Lopez<br />

and Matt Deegan)<br />

FRANCE<br />

Visages d’enfants (1925)<br />

GERMANY<br />

Die Austernprinzessin (1925)<br />

Music by Noli Aurillo<br />

2009<br />

ITALY<br />

Assunta Spina (1914)<br />

Music by Caliph8<br />

GERMANY<br />

Berlin: Die Sinfonie<br />

der Grosstadt (1927)<br />

Music by Out of Body Special<br />

2011<br />

GERMANY<br />

Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (1926) Music by Drip<br />

SPAIN<br />

El sexto sentido (1929) Music by Wahijuara<br />

JAPAN<br />

Orochi (1925) Music by Makiling Ensemble<br />

SPAIN<br />

El negro que tenía<br />

el alma blanca (1926)<br />

Music by<br />

Novo Concertante Chorale<br />

JAPAN<br />

Taki-no-shiraito (1933)<br />

Music by Bob Aves<br />

CZECH REPUBLIC<br />

Erotikon (1929)<br />

ITALY<br />

L’uomo meccanico (1921)<br />

Music by Caliph8<br />

GERMANY<br />

Menschen am Sonntag (1930)<br />

Music by Nyko Maca<br />

SPAIN<br />

La bodega (1929)<br />

Music by Tanglaw<br />

JAPAN<br />

Kodakara Sodo (1935)<br />

Music by<br />

Radio Active Sago Project<br />

ITALY<br />

Dante’s Inferno (1911)<br />

Music by Razorback<br />

GERMANY<br />

Nosferatu (1922)<br />

Music by FEU Chorale and<br />

Stephan von Bothmer<br />

GREECE<br />

<strong>The</strong> Greek Miracle (1921)<br />

Music by Heliodoro<br />

(Dingdong) Fiel (HDC Trio)<br />

2008<br />

SPAIN<br />

La aldea maldita (1930)<br />

Music by Joey Ayala<br />

JAPAN<br />

Oatsurae Jirokichi Koshi (1931)<br />

Music by Kalayo<br />

FRANCE<br />

Fantomas: A l’ombre de la Guillotine (1925)<br />

Music by Corporate Lo-fi<br />

2010<br />

SPAIN<br />

Pilar Guerra (1926)<br />

Music by HDC Trio<br />

JAPAN<br />

Akeyuku Sora (1929)<br />

Music by Bandang Malaya<br />

PHILIPPINES<br />

Brides of Sulu (1934)<br />

Music by Armor Rapista<br />

and the Panday Pandikal<br />

Cultural Troupe


1927<br />

METROPOLIS<br />

FRIDAY 24 AUGUST, 7PM<br />

Director: Fritz Lang Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge<br />

Genre: Science Fiction Runtime: 143 Minutes<br />

Metropolis is a city in the<br />

future, with skyscrapers<br />

reaching for the sun and<br />

citizens, enjoying their prosperity<br />

under the rule of Johann Fredersen.<br />

His son Freder falls in love at first<br />

sight with Maria, a voice of the<br />

working class who came from the<br />

underground to end the separation<br />

of rich and poor. Through her,<br />

Freder discovers the price of<br />

his luxury: In the underground<br />

city, workers sacrifice their<br />

lives for the machines. Shocked<br />

Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Transit <strong>Film</strong><br />

by his father’s governance, he<br />

swaps places with a worker<br />

and abandons his former life. In<br />

order to win back his son, Johann<br />

Fredersen instructs Rotwang,<br />

the inventor of Metropolis, to<br />

construct a robot which looks like<br />

Maria, to impeach her credibility<br />

as mediator between the classes.<br />

Encouraged by the mischievous<br />

robot, the workers start a rebellion<br />

bringing upper Metropolis close to<br />

its downfall.<br />

RSVP: Hannes - 817 09 78 or email: kultur.programm@manila.goethe.org<br />

HISTORY<br />

OF SILENT<br />

CINEMA IN<br />

GERMANY<br />

<strong>The</strong> history of German<br />

Stummfilm can be traced<br />

back to the hour of cinema’s<br />

birth. And even before the Lumière<br />

brothers first displayed their<br />

Cinématographe, in 1895 the<br />

German filmmakers Max and Emil<br />

Skladanowsky presented silent<br />

films to the public in Berlin, using<br />

their self-constructed film projector.<br />

Although sound could have been<br />

added earlier, film production was<br />

costly and the addition of sound<br />

impractical. However, silent films<br />

never have been presented in silence.<br />

In fact, musical accompaniment was<br />

central to German Stummfilm, as<br />

filmmakers were eager to explore<br />

their potential to transform films<br />

into a modern Gesamtkunstwerk<br />

combining different forms of art<br />

such as acting, storytelling and<br />

music. Until the assertion of sound<br />

in 1928/29, the Golden Age of<br />

German Stummfilm and the rise of<br />

German Expressionism brought up<br />

films like Nosferatu, Das Cabinet des<br />

Dr.Caligari, and Metropolis which<br />

are testament to the innovation and<br />

creativity of that time.<br />

RUBBER INC.<br />

Formed in 1998 by Malek Lopez<br />

and Noel de Brackinghe, Rubber<br />

Inc. successfully pioneered the<br />

concept of live dance music in<br />

the Philippines. Often confused<br />

with DJs the duo originally<br />

utilized an arsenal of keyboards,<br />

mixers, effects, and samplers<br />

to create music with a very<br />

distinct sound that incorporates<br />

elements of techno, house,<br />

latin, drum n’ bass, and the<br />

more leftfield sounds of groups<br />

like Aphex Twin. Not limiting<br />

themselves to the dancefloor,<br />

Rubber Inc. have done numerous<br />

gigs including performances,<br />

sound design, and soundtrack<br />

work. With Malek focusing on<br />

scoring projects for television,<br />

film and art exhibits. Noel<br />

spent his time honing his skills<br />

as an audio engineer and has<br />

produced or engineered many<br />

highly acclaimed albums. With<br />

the years of studio experience<br />

and the advancements in music<br />

technology the band have a<br />

whole new set of tools and skills<br />

that has advanced the bands<br />

sound and production.<br />

6TH INTERNATIONAL SILENT FILM FESTIVAL | MANILA


1925<br />

LA CASA DE LA TROYA<br />

SATURDAY 25 AUGUST, 3PM<br />

Director: Alejandro Pérez Lugín, Manuel Noriega Cast: Alfonso Orozco, Luis Peña, Juan de<br />

Orduña, Guillermo Muñoz, Domingo del Moral and Clotilde Romero<br />

Genre: Comedy Runtime: 162 Minutes<br />

Fernando embarks upon an<br />

adventure to Santiago with<br />

the aim of getting his life<br />

together and finally earning his<br />

degree in Law. <strong>The</strong>re, he stays in<br />

one of the student dormitories<br />

commonly known as “La casa de<br />

la Troya”. Upon arriving, he meets<br />

a Galician girl named Carmen<br />

with whom he falls in love and,<br />

in one of the parties they attend<br />

together, he decides to propose to<br />

her. However, this is opposed by<br />

Carmen´s aunt who then intends to<br />

destroy the relationship. Carmen<br />

decides to enter a convent but,<br />

in the end, Fernando succeeds in<br />

winning her back with the help of<br />

his friends.<br />

RSVP: Nicole 526 1482 loc. 115 | email: cultx2mni@cervantes.es<br />

Months after the cinematograph was<br />

introduced to the public in 1895, it<br />

eventually found its way to Spain<br />

mostly thanks to the French filmmakers who<br />

had travelled extensively with their new<br />

invention. Gelabert’s “Riña en un café” (1897),<br />

considered to be the first Spanish feature<br />

film, broke the monotony brought about by<br />

the usual newsreels and documentaries. Soon<br />

the film industry would find itself constantly<br />

battling a lack of resources but this did not<br />

deter the production of quality films. Genres<br />

grew to cater to the public and to compete<br />

against European and American productions<br />

which enjoyed more financing and better<br />

technology. It would have been during<br />

the 1920s when the silent film eventually<br />

achieves public success. It can be said that<br />

the growth of the film industry followed that<br />

of the economy of Spain as it initially found<br />

its hub in Barcelona while later on moving to<br />

Madrid after WWI.<br />

IGNACIO<br />

PLAZA<br />

HISTORY<br />

OF SILENT<br />

CINEMA IN<br />

SPAIN<br />

SINOSIKAT?<br />

In an industry where one’s success<br />

depends on whom you sound<br />

like, SinoSikat? breaks musical<br />

stereotypes with their own<br />

concoction of home grown music.<br />

Driven by their craft, they draw their<br />

influences from both, the past and<br />

the future. <strong>The</strong>y have proven to be<br />

quite a force in the music industry,<br />

wowing audiences both, in the<br />

underground and in the mainstream,<br />

local & international, young & old.<br />

<strong>The</strong>ir lead singer, Kat Agarrado, also<br />

won Wave 89.9’s 1st Urban Music<br />

Awards’ 2009 Style Icon of the Year<br />

title, proving that the band’s cultural<br />

stamp goes beyond the boundaries<br />

of music. SinoSikat? will be joined by<br />

Ignacio Plaza, a Spanish live-scorer<br />

best-known for his cine-conciertos<br />

and his contributions to the<br />

cinematheque industry. Together,<br />

SinoSikat and Plaza will treat the<br />

audience to a collaboration of sound<br />

and sight that will surely give any<br />

given rom-com today a run for its<br />

money.<br />

“A cine-concert allows for a single film to be screened<br />

in different ways every time it is shown.” <strong>The</strong> work of<br />

composing and improvising always highlights the thrill of<br />

spontaneity that grows between the film and live music.<br />

<strong>The</strong> life and craft of Ignacio Plaza has always followed<br />

these basic principles. Since 2008, he has been with the<br />

French Cinematheque of Paris where he plays numerous<br />

instruments either as a solo or dual act with fellow artist<br />

and improvisers. Apart from his work in the cinematography<br />

industry, he also performs in a number of jazz collaborations<br />

mainly throughout Spain and France.<br />

6TH INTERNATIONAL SILENT FILM FESTIVAL | MANILA


1932<br />

I WAS BORN, BUT...<br />

SATURDAY 25 AUGUST, 7PM<br />

Director: Yasujiro Ozu Cast: Tatsuo Saito, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Hideo Sugawara<br />

Genre: Comedy/Drama Runtime: 91 Minutes<br />

This is the universal story of<br />

life itself - joys and sorrows,<br />

simply and beautifully told as<br />

seen through the candid eyes of two<br />

brothers; it is the uncompromising<br />

attitude of children towards an<br />

adult world full of compromises<br />

and hypocrisy. Ryoichi and his<br />

brother were overjoyed to move<br />

to the suburbs. Little did they<br />

know that their father’s motive<br />

was to be able to live near the<br />

director – his superior. Life<br />

seemed rosy for some time, until<br />

Ryoichi realized that his father<br />

© 1932 Shochiku Co., Ltd.<br />

was so inferior in his dealings<br />

with the director. In contrast, he is<br />

stronger and brighter than Taro –<br />

the director’s son. Why is it that his<br />

father whom he idolizes is not that<br />

great? Why did he make a fool of<br />

himself in the film that was shown<br />

in the neighborhood which made<br />

Ryoichi flare up saying “You tell us<br />

to become great but you are not !<br />

Why do you have to bow to Taro’s<br />

father? Consequently, all these<br />

made the father reflect on his own<br />

frustration and despair.<br />

RSVP: Call 811-6155 to 58 or email: email@jfmo.org.ph<br />

<strong>The</strong> history of cinema ironically<br />

began with the absence of<br />

words. <strong>The</strong> early films that<br />

initiated the form in any country<br />

were the so-called silent films. <strong>The</strong><br />

preponderance of the silent films<br />

was such that a particular period<br />

from 1894 to 1929 has been referred<br />

to as the “silent era.” <strong>The</strong> rise of<br />

silent films saw also the popularity<br />

of the narrator, who was called the<br />

benshi. In <strong>Japan</strong>, the narrator or<br />

benshi took over the absence of<br />

words by filling in and even adding<br />

sounds and senses to what is felt to<br />

be not there. Many film historians<br />

and critics propose that the benshi<br />

as the powerful narrator is unique<br />

to the development of cinema in<br />

<strong>Japan</strong>. <strong>The</strong> benshi would describe<br />

foreign things and supply additional<br />

narrative. In present-day <strong>Japan</strong>ese<br />

cinema, the soul of benshi roams<br />

with a subtitling that translates or<br />

defines things <strong>Japan</strong>ese appearing<br />

on screen, such as trademarks or<br />

street signs.<br />

HISTORY<br />

OF SILENT<br />

CINEMA IN<br />

JAPAN<br />

TROPICAL<br />

DEPRESSION<br />

In the course of a 22-year<br />

musical career, many words<br />

have been used to describe<br />

TROPICAL DEPRESSION,<br />

but actually, the name<br />

still says it all: a band that<br />

delivers one hell of a storm<br />

wherever it performs.<br />

TROPICAL DEPRESSION has<br />

shattered stylistic barriers<br />

and scrambled musical<br />

genres like no other band<br />

performing today. Tropical<br />

Depression specializes in a<br />

unique brand of domestic<br />

and exotic riddims that of<br />

world-wise, conscious and<br />

spiritual music. Growing<br />

out of the band members’<br />

love and affinity for Reggae<br />

and its offshoots, TROPICAL<br />

DEPRESSION created a new<br />

idiom in music and at the<br />

same time functioning as the<br />

gateway in introducing the<br />

essential Reggae Riddim to<br />

the country.<br />

6TH INTERNATIONAL SILENT FILM FESTIVAL | MANILA


1915<br />

LA SIGNORA DELLE CAMELIE<br />

SUNDAY 26 AUGUST, 4PM<br />

Director: Gustavo Serena and Baldassarre Neuroni Cast: Carlo Benetti, Olga Benetti and<br />

Francesca Bertini Genre: Drama Runtime: 43 Minutes <strong>Film</strong> Credit: Fondazione Cineteca Italiana<br />

<strong>The</strong> theme of “La signora<br />

delle camelie” is a love story<br />

between Marguerite Gautier,<br />

a courtesan – a woman “kept” by<br />

various lovers at the same time –<br />

suffering from tuberculosis, and<br />

a young provincial bourgeois,<br />

Armand Duval. Armand falls<br />

in love with Marguerite and<br />

ultimately becomes her lover,<br />

convincing her to turn her back<br />

on her life as a courtesan and<br />

live with him in the countryside.<br />

<strong>The</strong> idyllic existence is broken by<br />

(<strong>The</strong> Lady of the Camellias)<br />

Armand’s father, who, concerned<br />

by the scandal created by the illicit<br />

relationship and fearful that it will<br />

destroy Armand’s sister’s chances<br />

of marriage, convinces Marguerite<br />

to leave Armand, who believes, up<br />

until Marguerite’s death, that she<br />

has left him for another man. Her<br />

death from her illness, described<br />

as an unending agony, during<br />

which Marguerite, abandoned by<br />

everyone, can only regret what<br />

might have been.<br />

RSVP: Call 8924531 loc 143 or email: stage.manila@esteri.it<br />

HISTORY<br />

OF SILENT<br />

CINEMA IN<br />

ITALY<br />

Between 1909 to 1916, Italian<br />

silent cinema represented a<br />

major force in world cinema.<br />

While many genres were filmed,<br />

those that drew in the crowds and<br />

money were historical epics and<br />

dramas. Lavish sets, huge amounts<br />

of extras, and innovative film<br />

techniques were seen in many epics<br />

like “L’Inferno” (1911) and “Cabiria”<br />

(1914). <strong>The</strong> other well-loved genre<br />

was the diva film: slow moving<br />

but artfully designed melodramas,<br />

with strong leading ladies suffering<br />

glamorously and dying for love<br />

in the final reel. One of the most<br />

popular Italian femme fatales<br />

was Francesca Bertini, the diva<br />

of “Assunta Spina” (1915) and “La<br />

Signora delle Camelie” (1915). After<br />

World War I, foreign competition<br />

almost destroyed the Italian<br />

industry, forcing production to drop<br />

from 220 films to less than a dozen<br />

works in 7 years. <strong>Silent</strong> film was<br />

long considered a lost continent, but<br />

little by little, they have reemerged<br />

in all their glory from the public<br />

and private archives throughout the<br />

world.<br />

Garlic<br />

Feat. Louie<br />

Talan, Francis<br />

Reyes & Zach<br />

Lucero<br />

Garlic is an improvisation-based<br />

instrumental trio formed by bassist<br />

Louie Talan, guitarist Francis Reyes,<br />

and drummer Zach Lucero in 1998.<br />

<strong>The</strong>ir philosophy is to take any<br />

musical idea from any member<br />

of the band and expound on it<br />

spontaneously without, hopefully,<br />

resorting to self-indulgence or<br />

clichéd licks. <strong>The</strong> band’s goal is to<br />

make music at the spur-of-the-<br />

moment that, if done successfully,<br />

makes sense not only to themselves<br />

but to non-musicians as well. Garlic<br />

thrives on action and reaction in-<br />

the-moment; the members are fully<br />

aware of the risks and rewards<br />

of improvised music. Since its<br />

inception, the band has garnered<br />

critical acclaim from audiences<br />

and musicians alike; however due<br />

to each member’s schedules with<br />

their respective home bands and<br />

session work over the years, Garlic’s<br />

performances have been sporadic.<br />

<strong>The</strong> band intends to be more active<br />

in 2012, and hopefully record a<br />

long-awaited proper EP.<br />

6TH INTERNATIONAL SILENT FILM FESTIVAL | MANILA


1983<br />

ETERNITY<br />

SUNDAY 26 AUGUST, 7PM<br />

Director: Raymond Red Cast: Jon Red, Cresencio Lopez Runtime: 25 Minutes<br />

Ahaunting and genuinely<br />

mysterious dream, full of<br />

bizarre inventions. <strong>The</strong><br />

exact date, says the title-card, is<br />

Goto 3, 2265. <strong>The</strong> exact locale:<br />

Inside Jose’s Head, One Morning.<br />

<strong>The</strong> film that is about to be seen<br />

happens on the third day of an<br />

unheard-of month in the futuristic<br />

year 2265. But as the film unfolds,<br />

1985<br />

PELIKULA<br />

Director: Raymond Red<br />

Cast: Jon Red, Jason Recana<br />

Runtime: 5 Minutes<br />

the setting bears the marks of a<br />

typical Philippine provincial town<br />

during the nineteenth century…<br />

Red’s astonishing debut film deals<br />

with a man trapped in a recurrent<br />

nightmare: bad dreams, interviews<br />

for a post and rejection. He finally<br />

tried to break the cycle by stealing<br />

a cabalistic book from a mansion<br />

atop a sacred mountain...<br />

<strong>The</strong> title means “film”;<br />

Pelikula is a short,sharp,<br />

formalist shock.<br />

RSVP: Hannes - 817 09 78 or email: kultur.programm@manila.goethe.org<br />

HISTORY<br />

OF SILENT<br />

CINEMA IN THE<br />

PHILIPPINES<br />

Jan. 1, 1897, movies were first<br />

Onshown in the Philippines by a<br />

Spanish entrepreneur named Pertierra,<br />

at his salon in Escolta, Manila. He<br />

obtained a Gaumont Chronophotographe<br />

from Barcelona and showed a program<br />

of shorts imported from France. In<br />

1898, Spaniard Antonio Ramos shot the<br />

first movies in the country - four very<br />

short actuality films.<br />

On Aug. 23, 1912, the first locally made<br />

full length film with Filipino actors, LA<br />

VIDA DE RIZAL. was premiered. <strong>The</strong><br />

hour-long film was written and directed<br />

by Edward Meyer Gross, an American<br />

resident who was married to popular<br />

zarzuela diva Titay Molina, who also<br />

acted in the film.<br />

In 1917, Jose Nepomuceno founded<br />

Malayan Movies, the first fully Filipinoowned<br />

film company. In 1919. he<br />

produced and directed the first all-<br />

Filipino full-length film, DALAGANG<br />

BUKID (Country Maiden). In 1922, the<br />

first and only Visayan silent movie was<br />

made in Cebu, EL HIJO DISOBEDIENTE.<br />

By 1933 Nepomuceno also had<br />

produced the first 100% all-sound film,<br />

ending the silent era. Approximately 94<br />

local full-length films were made during<br />

the silent era - 36 by Nepomuceno, thus<br />

making him the Father of Philippne<br />

Cinema.<br />

DIWA<br />

DE LEON<br />

Diwa de Leon is a full-time<br />

composer, arranger, film scorer<br />

and musician. He also pioneered<br />

his solo music effort called the<br />

“Hegalong Project”.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Hegalong Project is a<br />

series of original music that<br />

highlights the HEGALONG, a<br />

Philippine two-string lute/guitar,<br />

and combining it with a genre of<br />

music from today. Diwa initially<br />

chose electronic-ambient music<br />

because it fits the natural sound<br />

of the hegalong, but is also<br />

experimenting with other genres<br />

such as rock and jazz-fusion.<br />

Diwa usually performs solo<br />

with his hegalong, an iPod as<br />

the basic setup, which already<br />

sounds like a full band and<br />

string orchestra on its own. He<br />

occassionally invites musicians<br />

to jam, which includes JP<br />

Hernandez on percussion,<br />

Frances Escape on percussion,<br />

Aba Dalena and Zab Reyes on<br />

vocals. Other musicians have<br />

also been to known to join in<br />

from time to time.<br />

Diwa has won awards for<br />

his film scores including “Best<br />

Music” and “Best Sound” for the<br />

2011 Cinemalaya film “Busong.”<br />

6TH INTERNATIONAL SILENT FILM FESTIVAL | MANILA


1923<br />

SAFETY LAST<br />

MONDAY 27 AUGUST, 7PM<br />

Director: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor Cast: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis and Bill Strother<br />

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Thriller Runtime: 70 Minutes<br />

When a store clerk<br />

organizes a contest to<br />

climb the outside of a<br />

tall building, circumstances force<br />

him to make the perilous climb<br />

himself.<br />

A 1923 romantic comedy<br />

silent film starring Harold Lloyd,<br />

the film’s title is a play on the<br />

common expression, “safety first.”<br />

This photo of Lloyd dangling from<br />

the hands of a large clock outside<br />

of a skyscraper is considered one<br />

of the most famous images from<br />

the silent film era. <strong>The</strong> film was<br />

highly successful and critically<br />

hailed, establishing Lloyd as a<br />

major figure in early motion<br />

pictures. It is still popular at<br />

revivals, and it is viewed today as<br />

one of the great film comedies.<br />

RSVP: Reysa Email: Alenzuelarc@state.gov Call: 301 2556/ 2553<br />

HISTORY<br />

OF SILENT<br />

CINEMA IN THE<br />

USA<br />

American silent films were at the<br />

forefront in the development of<br />

the cinema as the first modern form<br />

of art and entertainment. American<br />

inventor and entrepreneur Thomas<br />

Edison realized that motion pictures<br />

could attract a paying audience,<br />

and designed an individual viewing<br />

device called the Kinetoscope<br />

that premiered April 14, 1894 in<br />

New York City. Starting in 1914,<br />

Charlie Chaplin became arguably<br />

the greatest and most enduring film<br />

star of all time. Many film historians<br />

believe that the true potential of<br />

movie-making was not realized until<br />

D.W. Griffith’s 1915 feature film<br />

“<strong>The</strong> Birth of a Nation” and his 1916<br />

epic “Intolerance”. <strong>The</strong> tremendous<br />

success of “<strong>The</strong> Jazz Singer”,<br />

released in 1927, started a public<br />

fascination with sound. By 1929, the<br />

film industry was fully committed to<br />

“talkies” and silent films were a relic<br />

of the past. Chaplin’s 1936 classic<br />

“Modern Times” signaled the end of<br />

the American silent film era.<br />

RADIO-<br />

ACTIVE<br />

SAGO<br />

PROJECT<br />

<strong>The</strong> eight-piece ensemble from the<br />

suburbs of Quezon City, Philippines<br />

plays a critically acclaimed melange<br />

of spoken word poetry, bebop, freejazz,<br />

punk, soul, funk, afro-Latin,<br />

rock, and a mad sundry of musical<br />

styles sprinkled with massive doses<br />

of humor and irony.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Radioactive Sago Projectís<br />

perennially surprising stylistic<br />

excursions have earned them a cult<br />

following, from critics to art fans,<br />

even to discerning rock audiences.<br />

<strong>The</strong> band is fronted by four-time<br />

Palanca Award-winning writer Lourd<br />

De Veyra, along with alumni from the<br />

UP College of Music, two-time Gawad<br />

Urian awardee for Best Music, Francis<br />

De Veyra on bass, Jay Gapasin on<br />

drums, Junji Lerma on guitars, Pards<br />

Tupas on trombone, Arwin Nava on<br />

percussion, and Wowie Ansano on<br />

trumpet. Eventually, the band added<br />

Roxy Modesto (tenor and baritone<br />

saxophone) and B-boy Garcia<br />

(turntables) to beef-up the lineup.<br />

6TH INTERNATIONAL SILENT FILM FESTIVAL | MANILA


ART<br />

TALK<br />

SUNDAY 26 AUGUST, 7PM<br />

HOST: Teddy Co | SPEAKERS: Max Tessier & Raymond Red<br />

MAX TESSIER<br />

THE HERITAGE OF SILENT CINEMA<br />

<strong>The</strong> silent film era<br />

was the infancy of<br />

the cinema. This<br />

period lasted from 1894<br />

to 1929 in the major film-<br />

producing countries, and<br />

up until the mid-1930s in<br />

Latin America and Asia (in<br />

Thailand, it went on until<br />

the 1950s). We are now in<br />

an interstitial period and<br />

are witnesses to a massive<br />

transition from analog to<br />

digital filmmaking. <strong>The</strong><br />

closure of film giant Kodak<br />

signifies the end of celluloid<br />

- its impact comparable to<br />

when the silent films were<br />

being replaced by sound<br />

films. With the success of<br />

the contemporary silent<br />

film THE ARTIST, it’s an<br />

auspicious time to look back<br />

and reflect on how much the<br />

silent film has contributed<br />

to the evolution of the art of<br />

cinema, now on its second<br />

century of existence.<br />

French film critic and historian. Since 1965,<br />

he has written for publications like Ecran, Le<br />

Monde, Positif, and Cinemaya. A specialist<br />

in <strong>Japan</strong>ese and Filipino cinema, he has published<br />

books lke Yasujiro Ozu (1971), Images du cinéma<br />

japonais (1981), and Cinéma et littérature au<br />

Japon de l’ère Meiji à nos jours (1986). He was<br />

also artistic consultant for several festivals,<br />

including Cannes (1983-2000). He now calls the<br />

Philippines his home.<br />

RAYMOND RED<br />

Born in 1965, Raymond Red was a vanguard<br />

of the independent filmmaking movement<br />

of the 1980s that sprang out of the<br />

Mowelfund <strong>Film</strong> Institute and the U.P. <strong>Film</strong> Center.<br />

A graduate of the Philippine High School for the<br />

Arts, he became famous early on for Super 8<br />

short films that he made between 1983-85. <strong>The</strong><br />

first, ANG MAGPAKAILANMAN (ETERNITY), has<br />

achieved legendary status. His short film ANINO<br />

won the Palme D’Or at the 2000 Cannes <strong>Film</strong><br />

Festival. His full length films are BAYANI (1992),<br />

SAKAY (1993), KAMADA (1997), HIMPAPAWID<br />

(2009), and KAMERA OBSKURA (2012), which is<br />

a silent film.<br />

6TH INTERNATIONAL SILENT FILM FESTIVAL | MANILA


6 th International <strong>Silent</strong> <strong>Film</strong> Festival<br />

AUG. 24<br />

GERMANY<br />

“Metropolis”<br />

ft. Rubber Inc.<br />

7:00PM<br />

AUG. 25<br />

SPAIN<br />

“La Casa<br />

De La Troya”<br />

ft. Sinosikat? &<br />

Ignacio Plaza<br />

3:00PM<br />

JAPAN<br />

“I Was Born,<br />

But …”<br />

ft. Tropical<br />

Depression<br />

7:00PM<br />

SCHEDULE<br />

AUG. 26<br />

ITALY<br />

La Signora<br />

Delle Camelie<br />

ft. Garlic<br />

4:00PM<br />

ART TALK<br />

ft. Max Tessier &<br />

Raymond Red<br />

on “<strong>The</strong> Heritage<br />

of <strong>Silent</strong> Cinema”<br />

7:00PM<br />

PHILIPPINES<br />

“Eternity” &<br />

“Pelikula“<br />

ft. Diwa De Leon<br />

7:30PM<br />

In Partnership With:<br />

AUG. 27<br />

USA<br />

Safety Last<br />

ft. Radioactive<br />

Sago Project<br />

7:00PM

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