1 February

Snow White (Dir. J Searle Dawley, US, 1916) (Screening format – not known, 63mins)  No, not the famous Disney animation, but the film which inspired a young Walt Disney and led to him using it as a basis for his 1937 classic.  Adapted by Winthrop Ames from his own 1912 Broadway adaptation of the story published  a hundred years earlier by the Brothers Grimm, Snow White was one of Adolph Zukor’s Famous Players productions. Because Queen Brangomar (Dorothy Cumming) has always been jealous of the princess Snow White (Marguerite Clark), she makes the girl work as a scullery maid. Yet, even this indignity is not enough, and when Prince Florimond (Creighton Hale) falls in love with Snow White, Brangomar, herself in love with Florimond, decides to have the princess murdered…… Find out more at  moviessilently.com .  With live piano accompaniment by Jonny Best. Introduced by Jonny Best along with Dr. Amy M. Davis, author of Good Girls and Wicked Witches: Women in Disney’s Feature Animation .  Middleton Hall, University of Hull, Hull  Link

2 February

Shiraz (Dir. Franz Osten, 1928) (Screening format – DCP, 97mins)   Based on a play by Indian author Niranjan Pal, Shiraz tells the fictionalised love story of the 17th-century princess who inspired the construction of the Taj Mahal.  It was directed by Germany’s Franz Osten, one of at least 17 films he made in India between 1925 and 1939, best known of which are The Light of Asia (1925) and A Throw of Dice (1929).  Shot entirely on location in India with an all-Indian cast, it features lavish costumes and gorgeous settings – all the more impressive in this restoration by the BFI National Archive with specially-commisioned score. The film was the brainchild of producer Himansu Rai, who also stars as humble potter Shiraz, who follows his childhood sweetheart (Enakshi Rama Rau) when she’s sold by slave traders to the future emperor (Charu Roy).Upon its release Shiraz was a considerable critical and popular success and received rave reviews when the restored version was screened at last year’s London Film Festival.  Find out more at silentfilm.org. With Anoushka Shankar recorded score.  Home, Manchester. Link                   Also screens at this same venue on , 3 Feb (x2), 4 Feb (x2), 5 Feb (x),  6 Feb (x2), 7 Feb (x2), 8 Feb (x2)

10 February

The Lost World (Dir. Harry Hoyt, US, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 106mins) Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinosaur adventure is brought to the big screen for the first time in an adventure across continents to the land that time forgot, featuring swooping beasts, the terrifying ‘apeman’ and the odd volcano too! This film used pioneering techniques in stop motion by Willis O’Brien (a forerunner of his work on the original King Kong film) and was one of the first to use a tinting technique that brought colour to film. It also features an introduction from the author himself.  Find out more at  moviessilently.com.  With live piano accompaniment by Jonny Best.  Abbeydale Picture House, Sheffield.  Link

17 February

The Lost World (Dir. Harry Hoyt, US, 1925) (Screening format – not known, 106mins) Arthur Conan Doyle’s dinosaur adventure is brought to the big screen for the first time in an adventure across continents to the land that time forgot, featuring swooping beasts, the terrifying ‘apeman’ and the odd volcano too! This film used pioneering techniques in stop motion by Willis O’Brien (a forerunner of his work on the original King Kong film) and was one of the first to use a tinting technique that brought colour to film. It also features an introduction from the author himself.  Find out more at  moviessilently.com.  With live piano accompaniment by Jonny Best.  Picture House, Hebden Bridge, W Yorks Link

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