Local silent film enthusiasts Chris Daniels and Norman Taylor formed Bristol Silents in August 2000 to promote and celebrate Silent Cinema nationally. Initially the programme began with a short season of Louise Brooks films at Arnolfini in October 2000.

2002 saw our first events at Watershed Media Centre and Bristol Silents has gone from strength to strength ever since. From national tours of silent programmes to our hugely successful sell-out first Slapstick Silent Comedy Festival in 2005 our ongoing partnership with Watershed has helped us establish an international reputation for silent film programming and live events.

We aim to raise awareness and knowledge of these films amongst the film going public, support and present a range of Silent films along with educational programmes designed to increase understanding and appreciation of this unique art form.

Silent film screenings can suffer from poor quality prints being shown, sometimes with sub-standard or totally inappropriate musical accompaniments and often at the wrong speed. In addition the historical/social context and conditions of the film may not be known so audiences may struggle to understand the action and read the nature of the film.

We aim to provide an authentic experience of Silent Cinema by:

Film Selection and Programming
Choosing appropriate features and programming with the view of establishing a long-term audience, from complete novices to passionate silent film aficionados

Education
Providing accurate, well researched and presented handouts Pre-screening events with speakers Showing relevant documentaries Providing Silent film educational courses

Film Speed
Films will be shown at the correct speed and ideally a speed control device will be provided by cinemas for accurate projection; too slow and a film becomes laborious and dull, too fast and the action becomes farcical.

Print quality
Every effort will be made to acquire, within financial constraints, the best available print using our extensive knowledge of archives and private collectors. Where the quality of the print is compromised information will be given to the audience to that end.

Accompaniments
Musical accompaniments will be provided wherever possible as near to the director's original intention taking into account financial constraints, the venue, the audience and available prints. Where a live piano accompaniment is the most appropriate, ideally only musicians with extensive understanding of the silent medium will be invited to perform. Where appropriate and affordable especially composed recorded scores will be used in preference to older synchronised scores that can be of very poor quality.

Celebration
We aim to bring these films to new audiences and make the experience of viewing them a special cinematic event. Wherever possible experts and enthusiasts in the field will be invited to contribute and creative displays of silent film memorabilia will be mounted. We have extensive knowledge of the silent era and contacts among local people involved in silent cinema, celebrities, film societies, silent film historians, film studies lecturers and film score composers who will all contribute positively to live Silent Cinema.

Publicity
Raising the profile of silent film and building a reputation for quality Silent Cinema events in the West and nationally for both Bristol Silents and associated cinemas which include Watershed, The Barbican Screen in London and other venues in the UK and abroad.