PREVIEW

OPENING NIGHT FEATURES THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE NEW RESTORATION OF AUGUSTO GENINA’S MAGNIFICENTLY COLORED CYRANO DE BERGERAC, WITH AN ORCHESTRAL SCORE BY KURT KUENNE

CLOSING NIGHT SEES BUSTER KEATON’S OUR HOSPITALITY WITH A SCORE FOR CHAMBER ORCHESTRA BY ANDREJ GORIČAR

THE LARGEST OF THE RETROSPECTIVES IS DEDICATED TO THE CHAPLIN PHENOMENON AND “CHAPLIN MANIA”

At the Teatro Verdi of Pordenone from 4 to 11 October

Pre-opening on 3 October in Sacile, and a repetition of the final night on 12 October

Nearly 200 titles including shorts and features from national and international film archives will be shown during the 44th edition of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival / Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, taking place 4-11 October at Pordenone’s Teatro Verdi. Comprised of thirteen sections, including special events, the festival is packed with screenings each day from early morning until late evening, all accompanied with live music by top specialist musicians. Now in his tenth year as director of the Giornate, Jay Weissberg declares that the high number of comedies in this year’s program can be considered “a kind of film therapy for international cinephiles gathered in Pordenone as well as those accessing the films online, in the belief that, despite what’s happening in the world, through laughter we can find solidarity in our common humanity.”

The 44th edition of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival officially kicks off with Augusto Genina’s celebrated 1922 adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, a spectacular evocation of Edmond Rostand’s beloved characters that Il corriere cinematografico called “a film of perfect balance and perfect harmony.” Genina’s innovative use of a complicated color technique incorporating both tinting and a variety of stencil colors made it a touchstone of cinematic beauty, but only now thanks to a stunning restoration by FPA Classics of Paris, which will world premiere in Pordenone, can its full chromatic range be properly appreciated much as it was just over one hundred years ago. American composer Kurt Kuenne has revisited and revised his previous score for the film, which will also receive its premiere at the festival performed by the Orchestra da Camera di Pordenone, directed by Ben Palmer.

Buster Keaton will be featured twice, first in The Cameraman (1928), screening as the traditional pre-opening performance at the Teatro Zancanaro in Sacile, this year taking place on 3 October and accompanied by the Zerorchestra. The Great Stoneface returns for the festival’s closing on Saturday 11 October (repeated Sunday, 12 October) with Our Hospitality, his second feature-length film, co-directed together with John G. Blystone and co-starring his wife. Even when released in 1923, critics realized that Keaton was doing something different, integrating comedy and pathos in a way that made the narrative an essential part of the humor rather than an excuse to put together a bunch of gags. Playing upon a 19th century legend about feuding families in rural Appalachia, Keaton turns every obstacle into a hilarious physical feat, culminating in a breathtaking race against nature itself. In this year in which Nova Gorica-Gorizia is European Capital of Culture, Our Hosptality will be presented with a score by Slovenian composer and musician Andrej Goričar, conducting the Orchestra of the Imaginary of Ljubljana.

This year’s biggest series is entitled “Six Degrees of Chaplin” and is dedicated to Chaplin Mania in all its forms, encompassing not just the great man himself but his inspirations, the performers he influenced, imitators, cartoons and newsreels demonstrating his status as an unparalleled worldwide celebrity. The program is the brainchild of Steve Massa and Ulrich Rüdel, who’ve conceived of the series as a continuation of their exploration of the Origins of Slapstick, arguing for a more international perspective than has generally been accorded the theme.  Through the lens of the Chaplin phenomena, they’ve proven there’s still more to say on this ever-rich subject, guided by the fundamental work of Chaplin’s official biographer David Robinson, director of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival for 18 editions, from 1997 to 2015, and now director emeritus.  To quote the curators, “at long last we turn our inquisitive curiosity to Chaplin – not just as the focus, but also as yet another starting point and lens for our continued exploration of unexpected comic revelations, connections and indeed delights.”

Thanks to global partnerships with archives in Europe and the U.S., together with a close collaboration with the Chaplin family’s own archive, the Giornate will be presenting six programs with over 30 titles dedicated to the Chaplin phenomenon. Among the greatly-anticipated highlights: the world premiere of The Museum of Modern Art’s new restoration of Chaplin’s anti-war comedy Shoulder Arms (1918), paired with Harry Langdon’s anti-war comedy Soldier Man (1926), but also films with such important colleagues as Mabel Normand, Marie Dressler and Jackie Coogan. In addition, the Chaplin Office has opened up their treasures, allowing us to screen rarely seen home movies and films made on-the-set, providing a glimpse into Chaplin’s private life, his working methods, and his stratospheric popularity.

Foto: Buster Keaton, Francis X. Bushman, Jr.
Our Hospitality (US 1923) di John G. Blystone e Buster Keaton
Il film è uscito all’epoca in Italia col titolo Accidenti… che ospitalità!
Credit: Museum of Modern Art, NY