THEY are the precursor of cinema as audiences know it today, only that its plot narration was staged with exaggerated gestures and onscreen “intertitles”. However quaint they may seem now, silent films defined cinema from its birth in the 1890s to the early parts of the 1920s.
Circa 1923, the inevitable transition from “silent” to “talking” pictures happened, signaling the gradual decline of the production of silent films.
Still, the end of the era doesn’t mean the form has lost its power, or that silent pictures have lost their place of importance in the pantheon. But where to enjoy these cinematic marvels in this day and age, in the way silent films were enjoyed by moviegoers back then? Movie junkies, brace yourselves, for Shangri-La Plaza again has another such filmic feast on offer.
Following the success of the nine previous installments of the International Silent Film Festival, Shangri-La Plaza Manila is launching the 10th wave of silent movie screenings, which will be accompanied by live musical performances.
This year the Philippine-Italian Association, Japan Foundation Manila, Goethe-Institut Philippinen, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, Instituto Cervantes, The British Council, and the Embassies of the United States of America, France and Austria come together to present 10 films from nine different countries happening on August 25 to 28 at the Shang Cineplex.
The event’s launch, which was led by Filipino photographer and visual graphic artist Nikkorlai Tapan, was highlighted by an interactive exhibit of live drawings by visual artists, a live movie set and trivia games. Also featured in a side gallery was a timeline of the festival, which dates back to its first successful launch back in 2007. Popular band Up Dharma Down was also on hand for the festivities.
The 1oth International Film Festival officially opens on August 25, with free admission on all screenings on a first-come-first-served basis.
The British Council will kick off the cinematic celebration with the film Play On! Silent Shakespeare at 7:30 pm. This is a compilation of Shakespeare short films from a wide range of early cinematic adaptations (produced from 1899 to 1910), courtesy of the British Film Institute (BFI) National Archive. Among the highlights are King John, the world’s earliest surviving Shakespeare adaptation, and an early version of Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Richard III, plus cartoon parodies of Shakespeare’s plays by British animation pioneer Anson Dyer.
Raya Martin’s Maicling Maicling Pelikula nang Ysang Indio Nacional will be screened the following day, August 26, at 5:30 pm. The film tells the stories of a young church bell-ringer, an adolescent caught in the growing pressures of the revolution.
Maciste All’Inferno (1925), the 24th installment of the highly regarded Italian series Maciste, will be screened on the same day, at 8 pm. It will be introduced with a lecture by film expert and Director of the Center for New Cinema Prof. Nick de Ocampo.
August 27 will be a clash of cultures as Spanish, American and Japanese films are screened. La Revoltosa (1924) is the first film version of a popular zarzuela composed by Spanish musician Ruperto Chapi in 1897. For Heaven’s Sake (1926) is an action-comedy-romance about a wealthy uptown man falling for a downtown girl. Japan’s Muteki (1934), or The Foghorn, is the tragic story of forbidden love.
This will coincide with another film-expert talk, which will be led by Hidenori Okada, curator of the National Film Center.
Okada will give a background of the historical setting of The Foghorn, as well as the importance of a benshi (silent-film narrator) in the Japanese silent-film history. He will be joined by Ocampo.
Leg of Lam (1907), Le Petit Poucet (1922), Der Balletterzherzog (1927) and The Last Laugh (1924) will all be shown at August 28. Respectively, these films tell of magical lambs; the decision of a poor couple to leave their seven children in the woods; a love triangle between an arch-duke, his adjutant and a ballerina; and how the porter of the Grand Hotel was forced to change his high-end uniform to that of a toilet keeper, thus changing his life.
Contrary to popular belief that silent films played, well, wholly silent back then, the screenings actually featured live music, and the musical scores were presented by a piano player or even a band or orchestra. Following this tradition, Shangri-La invited local bands and artists to bring to the silent films to aural life.
Tago Jazz Collective will present the quartet of Pete Canzon, Ryan Villamor, Bergan Nuñez and Nelson Gonzales, for Play On! Silent Shakespeare. Oh Flamigo!, an indie rock band famous for their melodic hooks and idiosyncratic approach to music, will be the performer for Indio Nacional.
Ely Buendia will also present some pieces for the Maciste screening. Accompanying La Revoltosa are the DingDong Fiel Music Ensemble and tenor Miguel Angel Lobato, while Muteki will be “scored” by Makiling Band. For Heaven’s Sake will feature the 10-piece band of the Brass Pas Pas Pas Pas performing an eclectic mix of different music genres.
Musical director, arranger and composer Felipe A. Latonio will score the silent French films Le Pied de Mouton (Leg of Lam) and Le Petit Poucet. Latonio was famous for having composed music for some Filipino classics as well. Austria’s Der Balletterzherzog will be accompanied by Basti Artadi, the award-winning vocalist of the Philippine rock band Wolfgang. Finally, Up Dharma Down, will cap off the film fete by accompanying Friedrich Murnau’s The Last Laugh.