For those who missed Charlie Chaplin's birthday celebration, we invite you to Silent Cinema on Saturday, May 2nd! We'll be showing one of the oldest films featuring this silent film icon, The Immigrant and The Adventurer (both from 1917). Live piano accompaniment will be provided by Desiree Oduah.

Live piano accompaniment

by Desiree Oduah

*****

IMDb: 7.3 & 7.5/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 72 & 89%

As the Earth Turns is a 1938 American independent, science-fiction and silent film directed by Richard Lyford. Lyford was age 20 when he directed As the Earth Turns, and the film is one of many avant-garde films that he made in Seattle, Washington, before finding success with Walt Disney in the 1940s.

This film foresaw WWII, future-technology, climate change, and the extreme need for peace, as the world was drifting back into world war again. The main character, "PAX" ("Peace" in Latin), is played by R. Lyford, who desperately wants peace. He uses climate changing science to keep mankind from war. The screenplay is adapted from the 1915 novel The Man who Rocked the Earth by Arthur Trains and Robert Williams Wood.

Live piano accompaniment

by Agustina Taborda

*****

IMDb: 6.4/10

Restored in 2025 by San Francisco Film Preserve, Black Lightning is an extant 1924 American silent drama film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Thunder the Marvel Dog, Clara Bow, Harold Austin, Eddie Phillips and Joe Butterworth.

It has everything: gripping action, friendship, courage, explosive scenes and love. Accompanied by Thunder, the dog who rescued him from the firing line in France, World War veteran Ray Chambers goes to the mountains to recover from his war injuries. There he meets Martha Larned, a lonely mountain girl who lives with her little brother, Dick. Ray discovers that Martha is the sister of his dead buddy, Frank Larned, and he decides to stay and protect her from harassment by Jim Howard and his halfwitted brother, Ez.

Live piano accompaniment

by Agustina Taborda

*****

IMDb: 6.1/10

ROTTEN TOMATOES: 67%

The Devil's Eye is among the earliest feature action films, directed by the legendary Harry Piel in 1914. The story revolves around a diplomatic attaché who is falsely accused of stealing a precious diamond called the "Devil's Eye." This film is incredibly suspenseful and packed with thrilling stunts. It has recently been restored by Filmmuseum Düsseldorf.

Live musical accompaniment will be performed by Antonis Kalamoutsos and Brendan Pooley, who are two-thirds of the XOANON band.

A screening of the most iconic, but also the lesser-known short films of the pioneer of cinematography, inventor of special effects and one of the most inspiring figures in the entire history of cinema. We will show, among others, A Trip to the Moon, The Impossible Voyage, The Untamable Whiskers, The Cook in Trouble, and more. It`s a must see for all true cinema fans and cinematography adepts!

As always, the screenings will be

accompanied by live music.