Back we go to the modern silent, and to another competition which encourages budding filmmakers to think in a silent way. iCUBED.us is a Hong Kong-based social website for teenagers, and last year it established a one-minute silent film festival/competition. The competition returns this year, in collaboration with the relief agencies Crossroads and UNHCR. Anyone registered with the contest and aged between 13 and 21 can submit a one-minute silent video, which can include music but no speech. Contestants are encouraged to enter as teams. There are no formal judges. Entrants need to upload their videos to YouTube and send iCUBED.us the link by 1 February 2010. The two films with the highest rating (i.e. up to five stars) and the highest number of raters will be the winners. Which is an ingenious and social way of running a contest.
The video above shows the winners from the 2008/09 contest – Imagination, Rumors, and Kindness – Girl & Xmas Tree. More details of the contest, including a registration form, from the iCUBED.us site.
Silent is the name of an independently-financed feature film three years in the making which premiered in November 2008, and which is currently doing the rounds of festivals. Were it up to me, it would gain an award for its plot idea alone. Its subject is a world such as we understand in silent cinema, where everyone is silent. Into this world comes Abigaile Archibald, who discovers she can communicate in a completely different way to anyone else – she develops a speaking voice. She is delighted at being able to talk and sing, but the suspicious townspeople are horrified by this freak of nature and launch a witch hunt…
This ingenious concept you can see in action through the trailer, in which everyone inhabits a silent film world except for the vocal Abigaile, who sings of her woes in the mournful “Will I ever be heard?”. The look of the film (shot in black-and-white), which the director describes as a ‘gothic comedy’, takes its cue from Nosferatu but also the Universal horror films of the 1930s. It was shot in New Jersey, which has a noteworthy history of filmmaking itself, starting from Thomas Edison’s Black Maria studio at West Orange way back in 1893. Fort Lee was a popular area for outdoor filmmaking in the 1910s, and companies such as World, Eclair and Solax had studios there. The filmmakers are keen to reference this history, even if their own efforts take their inspiration from later, and elsewhere.
The film is written and directed by Michael Pleckaitis for Revscope Pictures, and stars Katie Ritz (as Abigaile), Dan Bailey and Sam Sebastian. Silent has a website with background information on the film, photographs, production news and a blog. They have also produced a serial of sorts, documenting the film’s production, all episodes of which you can follow on the website or via the film’s website – or you can just follow the links here (Chapter 1 seems only to be available on the film’s website):
And for your special delight, here’s the music video for “Will I ever be heard?” (which bears more than a passing ambition towards the work of Andrew Lloyd-Webber):
The film has been around for a year now, but despite the filmmakers’ online efforts, it doesn’t seem to have gathered all that much attention. It is hard to see why, given the quality of the trailer (though some of the supporting information in the production serial is a tad underwhelming). For ingenuity of concept alone it deserves a wider audience, and let’s hope that the Bioscope’s noble readership can do its bit to spread the word. A DVD release is promised in due course – I’m looking forward to it.
I’ve been undertaking a reorganisation of my YouTube acount. I’ve not uploaded any videos of my own as yet, but I gather together favourites, and I’ve started to organise these into groups, or playlists – curating YouTube, if you will. One of these playlists is on the modern silent film, and you may have already noticed on the right-hand column that listd among ‘other Bioscope sites’ is now Urbanora’s modern silents. This brings together all the examples of modern silent films that I’ve mentioned or featured on the Bioscope (where they are available on YouTube, that is), including mashups and the like which take original silents and play with them by cutting them to modern music, and so on. You can still follow what the Bioscope has said about the genre of the modern silent by clicking on the category Modern Silents, but the YouTube playlist gathers all the clips together in one place. I hope it’s useful – and do suggest new examples. I’ll be adding to it on a regular basis from now on.
There are some videos there that I’ve not yet written about. One that’s new is the engaging Fine Dining, made by Dean Mermell, descibed as “A homeless waif stumbles upon a parallel hobo universe, an exagerated world that mirrors our own, with surrealistic accuracy” and shot on 35mm in colour with hand-cranked camera. For other examples of Dean Mermell’s creative and stylishly visual silent films, see the engaging romantic fantasy Modern Life (“a contemporary silent film that tells the story of a young couple whose now is slipping away, and some peculiar things that happen each night while they sleep”) and the playfully Expressionist Violin (“The town sweeper has a secret life, a new talent, and a very strange lover”), or visit his Storyfarm site, where he has the Storyfarm Silent Theatre.
A current internet sensation is Drunkest Guy Ever Goes for Even More Beer Video, in which a convenience store security camera picks up the the hapless efforts of man so drunk he cannot stand to get yet more beer for himself. As is the way with these things, the video has not only chalked up millions of views itself, but has inspired a mini-industry of remixes, parodies etc.
Among these is the above gem, Larry Goes to the Market, in which Whit Scott has added titles, scratches and music (from pianist Kevin MacLeod) to turn the video into a rather impressive silent movie pastiche. View, enjoy, and learn what lessons you can from it.
Keep the eyes peeled for two different approaches to the silent film on British television in the next couple or months or so. Firstly, comedian Paul Merton is continuing his mission to educate his great following in the art of silent cinema. Following on from his Silent Clowns series and Paul Merton looks at Hitchcock (not to mention his guide to early British comedy on the BFI’s Screenonline site), late 2009 or early 2010 will see Lost Silence (working title), a one-off documentary exploring early European cinema, with a 3x60mins series The Birth Of Hollywood scheduled for 2011 to coincide with what the BBC claims will be the 100th anniversary of the Hollywood film industry. Assuming the programme’s slot has not been decided as yet, they might like to take note of the generally accepted fact that the first film made in Hollywood was D.W. Griffith’s In Old California (shot in February 1910). Anyway, they say the series will “focus on the influence of early US cinema on today’s films“.
And there’s silent film today. Over Christmas Sky 1 will be screening 12 Days of Christmas, a 12-part series of specially-commissioned silent films, each of which will have a different writer and director. They include cult author Neil Gaiman, who has written and directed Statuesque, starring Amanda Palmer and Bill Nighy. Gaiman has blogged about the eight-minute film’s production on his website. Other films in the series (produced by Hilary Bevan Jones for Endor Productions) will include Three Kings, a new take on the Biblical tale written by novelist William Boyd and directed by Richard Eyre, and playwright Jez Butterworth collaborating with director Ian Rickson. Tony Grisoni, Terry Gilliam’s regular screenwriter, is another scheduled contributor. So we must wait and see (or for those like the Bioscope who don’t subscribe to Sky, not see at all, at least until the DVD gets released).
We return – as we do from time to time – to the silent film of today, and to Hannah House. This is an independent modern horror film, shot as a silent (intertitles and all). The filmmakers are Chad and Max Smith, who claim that their tale of prairie life in 1904 is based on a true story (sigh), as a young family uncovers the horrid details of a house with a past. But though one might argue that we’ve been here before, and on many occasions, the style – from the trailer at least – is distinctive, going beyond pastiche to find something in the silent method and digitally aged look that genuinely complements its subject, with the look of decay echoing the corruption expressed in the film’s story, as the publicity blurb indicates:
Set in 1904, a young couple desiring to own land is convinced by a distant cousin to leave their comfortable city life to pursue homesteading in the Nebraska Prairie. A neighbor’s house and land has become vacant, and the couple is told they can have it. Possibilities of a new life and future for their unborn child overshadow any questions about what happened to the previous occupants of the house. Based on a true story, this chilling account written, directed and produced by brothers Chad and Smith portrays the hardships and desolation of prairie life as the young family unearths the horrifying details of the house and its past.
Hannah House, essentially a silent film, utilizes visual textures similar to those that occur now in many of the decomposing silent films from the 20’s. By capturing the imperfections of scratches, skips, dirt and trapped hairs, the result is like watching a painting of the desolate prairie come alive, and are also used as a narrative element to further the disturbing tone of this film.
Modern silents tend towards comedy, so this makes for a welcome change, though we have seen a few other examples of modern horror silents: Andrew Leman’s stylish H.P. Lovecraft homage The Call of Cthulhu (2005), Guy Maddin’s Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2002), and most recently Jim Towns and Mike McKown’s Prometheus Triumphant (2008). It’s hard to tell just from a trailer, but it looks like Hannah House differs from the others, which adopt a style to capture a haunted mood, instead placing modern horror conventions in an alien setting. Either way, the films find a relevance in the silent film style that lies well beyond pastiche.
Hannah House was made by the Smith brothers’ Monkey Angel Studios and is available through the video-on-demand service Shiny Object Digital Video and on DVD in the UK. According to IMDb it was made in 2002, but doesn’t seem to have been seen much before 2005/06.
And, if you must, you can discover the ‘true’ story behind Indianapolis’ Hannah House (“the house that reeks of death”) here.
Time for another modern silent, and my thanks to The Mysterious Ad)ri.an B(e;ta[m.a.x. (possibly not the name on his birth certificate) at Cahiers2Cinéma for alerting me to La Promenade Des Papillons, written and directed by Los Angeles filmmaker Josie Basford. Here’s how she describes it:
Lillian Lavender loves to stroll with her pet butterflies, greeting her neighbors all along the way. When Monsieur Dastard hatches a plan for Lillian’s demise, her walk takes a dark turn. What will happen to dear sweet Lillian and her butterflies?
So long as you don’t ask too many questions along the lines of, why would anyone go for a walk with butterflies, then this is a pleasing, quirky film, put together with some inventiveness and a good eye for pastiche. It also boasts a very enterprising score. Interestingly, the intertitles are in French (with English subtitles). It would be interesting to know what you think of it.
Badford has made at least one other silent pastiche, a very short comedy entitled The Freeloader, which you can view on YouTube.
Modern silent films are a mixed bag. Too often the spirit is willing but the inspiration is weak. In particular the modern silent comedy tends towards lame pantomime and fails to learn the first lesson of the original silent comedy films, which is to be funny. That involves more than being in monochrome, aping Chaplinesque movements and throwing in an intertitle or two. It requires the ability to express humour visually. The gag has to be funnier seen than it appears to be written down. The camera reveals the comedy.
So it is a particular pleasure to bring you the video on display here, because I think it is a genuinely funny modern silent comedy. It is a comic sketch set to ‘Largo al Factotum’ from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, and the story revolves around a humble barber’s assistant who dreams of trichological glory. I won’t give the gag away, but suffice to say that it’s something beyond Rossini’s imagination.
Largo al Factotum is directed by Dougal Wilson (whose background is pop videos), photographed by Alvin H. Kutchler and produced by Matthew Fone for Blink Productions. The hero is played by Mat Baynton. The film is one of a number of ‘Opera Shorts‘ commissioned by Sky Arts for the English National Opera, which were first broadcast in February of this year. The ENO always sings in English, so we get Rossini’s aria in English.
It’s a classy piece of work, from the lateral tracking shots to the astute photography (looking both of the past and of today), with welcome points of detail such as the slightly wobbly intertitles. Mop-haired Mat Baynton is an engaging hero, resourceful as a Keaton or Lloyd would be in the face of the oddities of fate. And the film matches the music perfectly. Enjoy.
This month sees the premiere of a new silent film (albeit one that seems to have been made in 2007), which is always a cause for rejoicing here at Bioscope Towers. The film is question is Universal Signs, a silent film for the deaf, presented what the official site describes as “mesmerizing American Sign Language with English subtitles”. The film looks to be one of those heartwarming tales of human relationships which tend to be a matter of taste, but here’s how the site describes the film’s appeal:
After the death of his fiancée’s daughter while in his care, Andrew (Anthony Natale, Mr. Holland’s Opus), a Deaf artist, becomes a prisoner of his own mind. Tormented day and night by memories and self-blame, Andrew falls in a downward spiral of depression and anger that alienates everyone around him. It is only through a serendipitous friendship and new love with Mary (Sabrina Lloyd, Sports Night) that Andrew is able to sense the life around him – forgive himself, rediscover his muse, and experience the transformative power of love.
An original score by Academy Award® winner Joseph Renzetti propels the story along with stellar supporting performances from Margot Kidder (Superman), Robert Picardo (Star Trek: Voyager), Deanne Bray (Sue Thomas: FBEye) and Ashlyn Sanchez (Crash).
Elsewhere they claim that the film “has the unique distinction of being the first feature film that embraces sign language in the storytelling of a film, rendering it a foreign language film for the hearing audience”. I don’t know enough about deaf cinema to know if this is a credible claim, but it will be a notable achievement if the film communicates equally to both kinds of audience. All of the deaf characters are played by deaf actors, and the film is wholly silent, with music score, bar a few snatches of audible dialogue. Hearing audiences are provided with captions to explain the dialogue.
There seems to be a certain amount of religious impetus – the site stresses its inter-denominational appeal, there’s a central character who’s a priest, and promotional blurb includes such lines as “by promoting UNIVERSAL SIGNS you send a message that TRANSFORMATION and CHANGE is happening. All we need is each other and FAITH in the possible and freedom to FORGIVE”. A Roman Catholic in Philadelphia which holds masses in American Sign Language features in the film.
There’s plenty more information on the site. There you can find out about sign language, deaf cinema, captioning, and how to help promote the film. You can also buy T-shirts, mugs and postcards, download screensavers, and pre-order the film on DVD. It is screening at the Toronto International Deaf Film and Arts Festival on 21 May, and it has had earlier festival screenings in 2008, though what is described as the world premiere takes place on 30 May at the Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA.
Finally, there’s a review of the film from a “sign-impaired” Erik Childress of the Chicago Film Society, which has this passage on its allegiance to the silent cinema:
There’s also something magical that occurs without calling obvious attention to itself when Universal Signs actually gets around to embracing its roots in the history of silent film. Developments in the plotting may give you the occasional eye roll for either their contrivance. But when you discover the big reveal during an Easter dinner scene, those versed in the schools of Chaplin or clavical-themed westerns will recognize the subtle shift in Renzetti’s score and provide new light on the direct convenience of an early antagonist and the second one it spawns. It’s not a far trip to imagine this dinner sequence with full title cards and speeded-up film in a full-on homage to the beginnings of motion pictures before we could all hear Al Jolson.
It’s disappointing to see that mistaken reference to “speeded-up film”, but otherwise this sounds like a film that deserves to make its mark.
Smile by Christos Tsirbas, first place award winner at the 2008 Toronto Urban Film Festival
TUFF is the Toronto Urban Film Festival (TUFF), which has the admirable mission to show silent films to the commuters of Toronto. The festival, which takes place 11-20 September 2009, comprises an urban-themed programme of new one-minute silent films, which run repeatedly on the ONESTOP digital network of over 270 platform screens on fifty subway platforms of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) for seven days. The top three films of the festival are chosen by a Guest Judge; this year writer/director/actor Don McKellar. The program for the final Saturday of the festival is determined by audience votes as is the winner of the TUFF Choice Award.
TUFF is open to local, national and international submissions by video artists, filmmakers – trained and untrained – animators and urbanites with cameras or video capable mobile devices. Filmmakers are asked to submit one-minute silent videos addressing one of seven themes: Urban Encounters; Urban Diversity; Urban Journeys; Urban Imaginary; Urban Natural; Urban Secrets; and Urban Ideas. Deadline for submissions is 15 July 2009. It is free to submit; filmmakers retain their rights, and have a chance to win prizes, including a trip for two to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic courtesy of BelAir Travel. Films must be 60 seconds (exactly); 720 x 480, square pixels if possible; 30 fps, deinterlaced if possible; no audio. And you don’t have come from Toronto to take part.
The Bioscope 