2016 Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema line-up

The programme for the sixth Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema (aka HippFest) was announced today, with films from China, Russia, Germany and the USA, as well as those from the Scottish Screen and BFI archives, screening over the five day festival

Feature by News Team | 09 Feb 2016

As was previously announced, HippFest kicks off 16 Mar in grand style at the with one of the pinnacles of Soviet cinema, Alexander Dovzhenko's epic Earth, from 1930. The film will be accompanied by a newly commissioned live score by Jane Gardner and Hazel Morrison – the pair are now festival old-hands, having provided scores for The Black Pirate, The Goose Woman and Dragnet Girl at previous HippFests.

Every year the festival – which takes place in and around the Hippodrome in Bo’ness – reminds us of how much great cinema from the silent era has been lost over the years, but historians are always turning up prints. One such unearthed gem is 1818’s melodrama Mania: The History of a Cigarette Factory Worker (17 Mar). Unseen for decades, it was recently restored by the Polish Film Archive and reportedly features a striking central performance by Polish screen icon Pola Negri, famed in Hollywood for her outlandish behaviour (she used to take her pet tiger for walks down Sunset Boulevard). Four-piece Polish band Czerwie make their UK debut with a live ‘ethno pop-rock’ score accompanying the film.

The festival’s Friday night gala is Exit Smiling (18 Mar), from 1926, a backstage comedy starring British stage-star Beatrice Lillie. Noël Coward reckoned she was “the funniest woman of our civilisation”, and he knew a thing or two about comedy. Festival regular Neil Brand provides the score.

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Another highlight looks to be Wunder der Schöpfung (19 Mar), a German doc from 1925 about the ‘wonders of creation’ – it comes with a new score from jazz duo Stuart Brown and Paul Harrison. There’s also a chance to see the first cinematic version of Peter Pan (20 Mar), with Elizabeth Jane Baldry – an expert in Victorian Fairy Harp music – performing the score. Daybreak (19 Mar), with Chinese screen goddess Li Lili, also screens, and there’s a chance to see slapstick favourites Laurel and Hardy in a triple bill of their comedies (20 Mar).

Always popular are the outdoor screenings at Bo'ness railway station – appropriatly this year’s film is The Wrecker, a British train thriller famed for having the largest action stunt in the UK’s silent film history – and the HippFest Speakeasy (19 Mar), a late night cabaret on Saturday with the Bevvy Sisters and the Bad Boys.

“HippFest16 promises our audiences unparalleled experiences," says festival director Alison Strauss. "The chance to see rare and recently restore films, the world premiere of new commissions and a just discovered ending for a Keaton short, revelatory pairings of brilliant musicians and films, and of course the stunning Hippodrome itself – Scotland’s proud, first purpose-built cinema. Everyone who comes along can be part of the glamour and excitement of our truly unique festival… and we are looking forward to sharing the joy of silent cinema with all comers.”


Hippfest takes place 16-20 Mar. Full programme details, go to HippFest's website. Tickets are on sale from today.