Adventurous Viewing: Silent Film Festival Directors in Conversation

In today's release we are delighted to share a conversation that took place earlier this month at the University of Edinburgh, hosted by Jane Sillars, Programme Director of the Masters in Film, Exhibition and Culture, along with Lizelle Bisschoff, who runs the Film Curation Masters at the University of Glasgow. The conversation featured the participation of Lisa Hoen, Director of the Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF), who made a pit stop in Edinburgh on her way from Norway to the Reykjavik International Film Festival. The event and the following dialogue grew out of a research visit to TIFF's Silent Film Days, undertaken by HippFest Director Alison Strauss and Nell Cardozo, HippFest Development and Engagement Officer, in April 2023.

In the discussion, you'll hear how HippFest and TIFF's Silent Film Days are carving out a space for silent film with live music in contemporary cinema programming, and about some of the considerations of film curation in this specialised area. Lisa's experiences programming art house and archive film in the Arctic Circle are invaluable, and we are grateful to be able to share this insightful conversation. Expect consideration of some of the challenges to silent film programming, alongside wider topics such as the crucial importance of cinemas as social spaces, and the transformative power of live music with silent cinema. We hope you enjoy!

Relevant links:

• Read the show transcript in full here
• Read Alison's account of the trip to TIFF from earlier this year
• More about Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF)
• More about TIFF's Silent Film Days
• More about Jo Reid's The Freedom Machine