National

 

March

1 – 7 March   Slapstick Festival   Moving to a later date and just for this year going fully ‘On-Line’, the festival will feature silent films starring Clara Bow and W C Fields as well as other events featuring Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Laurel & Hardy. Full details yet to be confirmed. Link

17 – 21 March    HippFest –  Hippodrome Festival of Silent Film,   Scotland’s premier silent film festival, now in its eleventh year, normally takes place in Scotland’s oldest purpose-built cinema, but this year moves On-Line with a range of British and international silent films including Oscar Micheaux’s Body and Soul (1925), Valentino in The Eagle (1925), Marlene Dietrich in The Woman That Men Yearn For (1929) and, best of all, the stunning Prix de Beauté  (1930) with Louise Brooks.  All films come with  musical accompaniment.   Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’ness, Scotland  Link

 

International

January

7 – 10 January Netherlands Silent Film Festival  Now in its third year the programme includes  drama, slapstick and child friendly presentations.  Accompanists include the excellent Daan van den Hurk . Pand P Eindhoven, Netherlands  Link

February

26th and 27th February.  Kansas Silent Film Festival from Topeka , Kansas is this year On-Line.  There are a varied collection of comedy shorts including  Dorothy Devore in Hold Your Breath (1924) while  the main features are Herbert Wilcox’s first directorial version of Nell Gwyn (1926) starring Dorothy Gish and  the only surviving feature length documentary by husband and wife team Martin and Osa Johnson, Simba (1928), following their travels through Africa  And as well as a nice collection of films being screened, the other big plus for the KSFF is….its free to watch!.  Further details can be found here.

March

3 – 14 March (TBC) Dublin International Film Festival  Usually with a modest but quality silent film strand. Dublin, Ireland. Link

April

9 – 12 April (TBC) Toronto Silent Film Festival  Now in its eleventh year, all films with live musical accompaniment.  The Revue Cinema and Roncesvalles United Church, Toronto, Canada Link

15 – 18 April (TBC) 17th Polish Silent Film Festival (Święto Niemego Kina).      Kino Iluzjon, Warsaw, Poland Link

May

5 – 9 May   (TBC) San Francisco Silent Film Festival   Castro Theater, San Francisco, USA  Link

 

14 – 16 May  (TBC)  Catalina Island Museum Avalon Silent Film Benefit. Recognized as one of the world’s longest running annual celebrations of Silent Film, now in its 33nd year    Avalon Casino Theatre, Catalina Island, Calif. USA Link

29 – 32 May Cinevent 2021 This is a gathering of fans of silent and early sound films, and of collectors of motion pictures and related items, now in its 52st year. Movie screenings take place nearly continually every day of the convention.  Dealers fill over a hundred tables full of film, video, sound recordings, posters, stills, lobby cards, books, autographs…everything imaginable associated with film.    Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel, Columbus, Ohio, USA.  Link

June

3 – 6 June   (TBC) The 7th Nitrate Picture Show This festival of film conservation  features screenings of vintage nitrate prints from international archives—including the Eastman Museum’s own collection—as well as lectures, workshops, and other opportunities to experience the art and science of film preservation, from print conservation to archival projection. “The Nitrate Picture Show is unlike any other festival of film preservation in that its ‘rules of the game’ are far more challenging—and often unpredictable,” said Paolo Cherchi Usai, Senior Curator, Moving Image Department, George Eastman Museum. “Our selection is based primarily on the physical condition and on the pictorial beauty of the prints; the quality and reputation of the works themselves comes next.”    Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York, USA Link

August

12 – 22 August  (Confirmed) Bonn International Silent Film Festival.  Another long running festival, now in its 36th year, featuring outdoor screenings in the courtyard of Bonn University and this year also broadcasting all screenings live on-line.  Programme to be announced.  University Courtyard, Bonn, Germany Link

September

24 – 26 September     (TBC) Marie Dressler Foundation – Vintage Film Festival   In 1992, a group of film enthusiasts involved in the restoration of the Marie Dressler house had a wild idea. Why not hold a festival showing the films in which Marie Dressler had starred? This seemingly fantastic idea grew into the present form in which they show a variety of films generally made before about 55-60 years ago, often, although not always, including a film starring Marie Dressler.     Capitol Theater, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada  Link

October

28 – 31 October  Cinevent 2021  This is a gathering of fans of silent and early sound films, and of collectors of motion pictures and related items, now in its 52st year. Movie screenings take place nearly continually every day of the convention.  Dealers fill over a hundred tables full of film, video, sound recordings, posters, stills, lobby cards, books, autographs…everything imaginable associated with film.    Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel, Columbus, Ohio, USA.  Link