TRIBUTE TO THE GREAT AUTEURS OF SILENT CINEMA

Silent Cinema visits again MCF, a place that never forgets Michael Cacoyannis love for the silent films. The 4th Silent Film Festival has as its topic: The Great Auteurs of Silent Cinema and it is organized from the 16th to the 26th of September 2013 with free entrance.

After the successful tributes to the American and European Silent Cinema (based on filmic choices made by Michael Cacoyannis) and thematic tributes such as the 3rd – Subject: The Emancipation of Woman, the 4th Silent Film Festival is about to screen 16 films that were shot during the period 1902-1929 and they are directed by famous auteurs such as Murnau, Lang, Dreyer, Eisenstein, Bunuel&Dali, DeMille, Chaplin, Keaton etc. The majority of the films are accompanied by original scores by Greek composers that are performed on stage.

Like every year, the 4th Silent Film Festival is organized in cooperation with the STUDIO-Parallel Circuit, and his President Christos Papadimitriou as well as the Film Scoring workshop with responsible instructor, Alexandros Mouzas.

Below, there is the list with the films that are going to be screened.

Monday 16th of September

Friedrich W. Murnau – Sunrise (1927-95΄)
NATALIA MAVRAKI

Violin: Nasos Martzoukos
Flute: Zacharias Tarpagkos
Piano: Katerina Deligiannidou

Tuesday 17th of September

Frank Borzage – Seventh Heaven (1927-110΄)
ILIAS NIKOLAIDIS

METALLON BRASS ENSEMBLE
Panayotis Kaisaris (trumpet & piccolo trumpet)
Yannis Karabetsos (trumpet & piccolo trumpet)
Kostas Siskos (horn)
Kostas Avgerinos (trombone)
Yorgos Rarakos (tuba)
Alexandros Michailidis (clarinet, bass clarinet)
Spyros Lambouras (percussion)

Conductor: Thodoros Antoniou

Wednesday 18th of September

Fritz Lang – Dr Mabuse & Der Grosse Spieler (1922-157′)
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

Thursday 19th of September

Carl Dreyer – La passion de Jeanne DArc (1928-78΄)
YANNIS SFIRIS

Kostas Sakarelis (English horn)
Yannos Yovanos (cello)
Myrto Akrivou (piano)
Yannis Sfiris (electric keyboard)

With the vocal Ensemble “Eklipsis”
Arrangement: Mattheos Legakis

Friday 20th of September

Buster Keaton – Sherlock Junior (1924) and The goat (71)
ORESTIS MORAITIS

Sound Design, Piano: Orestis Moraitis

Saturday 21st of September

Paul Wegenert & Carl Bose – The Golem (1920-85΄)
Pre-recorded music by MARINA TZOULI

&

Benjamin Christensen – Haxan: Witchcraft through the ages (1922-100΄)
ANNA MOUZAKI (TBC)

Sunday 22nd of September

Robert Flaherty – Nanook of the north (LEskimau) (1922-79΄)
GOGO KALODIKI

Marina Spalimerou (violin)
Gogo Kalodiki (electronic instruments)

&

Charlie Chaplin – A woman of Paris (1923- 71΄)
SPYROS LOUKOS

Piano: Spyros Loukos

Monday 23rd of September

Sergei Eisenstein – The General Line. Old and New (1929-121΄)
ELENI MITSIAKI (DJ set)

Tuesday 24th of September

Erich Von Stroheim – Queen Kelly (1929- 101΄)
ARGYRO KOLIOGIORGI

Thanos Margetis (piano)
Nikos Kiakos (violin)
Merkourios Karalis (clarinet-bass clarinet)

Wednesday 25th of September

Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali – Un chien Andalou (1928-15΄)
ALEXANDROS MOUZAS – Ergon Ensemble (Recorded)

&

George Melies – Trip to the moon (1902- 12΄)
Cecil De Mile- The Cheat (1915-59΄)
GIORGOS PAPAMITROU

Dimitris Tsibanos (piano)
Vaggelis Nina (cello)
Manousos Ploumidis (clarinet for the Trip to the Moon)

Thursday 26th of September
Paul Leni- The man who laughs (1928-56΄)
ELENI MITSIAKI (DJ set)

—–

FEW WORDS ABOUT THE TRIBUTE

“The 4th Silent Film Festival is about to begin. For one more time, Michael
Cacoyannis Foundation and STUDIO- STUDIO-Parallel Circuit stay loyal to
their appointment with the cinephile audience. During the two last weeks
of September, seventeen silent films -produced during 1915-1930- are
about to be screened at MCFs cinema.

More specifically, the first period that followed the 1st World War was largely known as the
Jazz Period of the Silent Cinema. The focus of the thematic silent film
festival on that period tries to give both artistic satisfaction and
historical awareness by underlining the social role of the cinema.

The silent films during the period 1918-1930 were the mediums of diffusing
the idea of building a new world constructed on the ruins of the Great
War. Cinema was used both by the economic oligarchies in order to
maximize profit and the political leaders in order to manipulate the
masses (e.g. new modus Vivendi, consumerism or even labors revolution).
Do not forget that Cinema is historically the only kind of Art that was
transformed into a great industry with economic and political
significance.

From the end of World War I to the collapse of the
ways of life because of the economic crash of 1929-30, cinema developed
its artistic essence, as well as its propaganda mechanisms for
political and economic exploitation. The rebellion-worker, the cowboy,
the charming businessman, the suffragette and the femme-fatale are some
representative examples of the change that was coming. But, this time,
we focus on the auteur behind the camera, the hidden hero and not on the
glamorous cast. We have chosen films whose directors name is featuring
one or more times at the relevant list of the 100 best silent films
ever (Wikipedia, IMDB).

Many of those films were not acclaimed
during their time. In many cases, the films were well-received by the
cinema-critics, whereas the audience had rejected them. And now, the
time has come in order to re-establish their prestige in front of the
Greek audience. In addition, all the films that were selected pay their
respect to the basic artistic role of cinema: they are entertaining
journeys, quests, avant-garde creations and dreams.

We wish you enjoying the screenings and we promise you that we are going to keep entertaining you with new cinematic tributes.“

Christos Papadimitriou
President of STUDIO-Parallel Circuit