Anna May Wong in Song (1929)

The 2008 annual German festival of silent film, Bonner Sommerkino, takes place in Bonn 14-24 August. The programme has just been announced, and here are the salient details:

14 August
Girl Shy (USA 1924 d. Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor), with Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston
The Heart of the World (Canada 2000 d. Guy Maddin), with Leslie Bais, Caelum Vatnsdal

15 August
Die Spinnen 1: Der Goldene See (Germany 1919 d. Fritz Lang), with Carl de Vogt, Ressel Orla, Lil Dagover
Die Spinnen 2: Das Brillantenschiff (Germany 1920 d. Fritz Lang), with Carl de Vogt, Ressel Orla, Lil Dagover

16 August
Yogoto No Yume (Japan 1933 d. Mikio Naruse), with Sumiko Kurishima, Teruko Kojima
Safety Last (USA 1923 d. Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor), with Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis

17 August
Film music improvisation event, with Neil Brand
Prasdnik Swjatogo Jorgena (USSR 1930 d. Jakow Protasanow), with Anatoli Ktorow, Igor Iljinski
La Vie et la Passion de Jésus Christ (France 1898 d. George Hatot), with Bretteau

18 August
The Big Parade (USA 1925, d. King Vidor), with John Gilbert, Renée Adorée

19 August
Chicago (USA 1927 d. Frank Urson), with Phyllis Haver, Victor Varconi
Smokey Smokes (USA 1920 d. Gregory La Cava)

20 August
Troll-Elgen (Norway 1927 d. Walter Fyrst), with Tryggve Larssen, Bengt Djurberg
The Immigrant (USA 1917 d. Charles Chaplin), with Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance

21 August
Von Morgens bis Mitternachts (Germany 1920 d. Karlheinz Martin), with Ernst Deutsch, Erna Morena
L’Horloge Magique (France 1928 d. Ladislas Starewitch), with Nina Star

22 August
Der Gelibte Seiner Frau (Austria 1928 d. Max Neufeld), with Dina Gralla, Claire Lotto
Vem Dömer (Sweden 1922 d. Victor Sjöström), with Jenny Hasselquist, Ivan Hedqvist

23 August
Der Geheime Kurier (Germany 1928 d. Gennaro Righelli), with Iwan Mosjukin, Lil Dagover
em>The First Born (UK 1928 d. Miles Mander), with Madeleine Carroll, Miles Mander

24 August
Walter Ruttmann event
Berlin. Die Sinfonie der Grossstadt (Germany 1927 d. Walter Ruttmann)
Song (Germany/UK 1929 d. Richard Eichberg), with Anna May Wong, Heinrich George
Fair Divers (France 1923 d. Claude Autant-Lara), with Louise Lara, Antonin Artaud

That’s a superb-looking line-up, from a festival that seems deservedly to be growing in prominence. It’s a particular pleasure to see The First Born there, a once buried classic now getting more and more screenings, but overall that’s just the way to mix the popular with the unfamiliar. Commendably international too. Screenings take place in the inner courtyard of Bonn University, and it’s all free.

Full details (in German only – perhaps next year they can go multi-lingual and start to attract maybe a wider audience) are on the festival site, with extra information on the impressive line-up of musicians.