Bristol's first Slapstick Silent Comedy Festival was a triumphant demonstration of how much can still be achieved with passion, dedication and massive gifts of good will and friendship. Even with the contributions of a number of generous sponsors,the festival’s budget, in comparison with any ordinary event of the kind, was a pretty short shoestring. No-one seeing the outcome could have guessed at the financial struggles. From the start thefestival established its character and style, combining faultlessly structured, highly professional shows with a distinctive, relaxed intimate atmosphere that felt more likepartying than cinema-going. The films, of course, sampling some of the most brilliant comedy ever put on screen, helped a lot in setting the tone. The personal quality of thefestival was primarily established by the on-stage hosts: Peter Lord (of Aardman Animations, Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run fame) presented the inaugural show, whilethe presiding genius during the remainder of the festival was Paul Merton, who was inexhaustible, personally presenting no less than five performances. At the major gala eventin the Colston Hall, “Paul Merton’s Silent Clowns”, Chris Serle acted as master of ceremonies. This belief was certainly confirmed by the response of the festival audiences. Every show atthe Watershed Media Centre was fully sold out, with disappointed enthusiasts waiting at the box office in the hope of returns. There was a special reward for those of us who haveworked a lot with the revival of silent films and golden age comedy: this kind of historic show usually attracts the dedicated, know-it-all film buffs, but “Slapstick” attracted regularfolks, including a lot of children, who just wanted a good time - which is exactly what these films were meant for. And there was no doubt that everyone was having a good time. Paul Merton said that therewere times when he was torn between watching the screen, and enjoying the sea of happy faces - the children above all rocking with laughter at the unaccustomed spectacle of grown-ups making fools of themselves. Paul Merton’s dedication to the festival - the ideawas first mooted when he visited Bristol Silents three years ago to present a Buster Keatonprogramme - is inspired by his own passion for silent movies and a genuine sense of mission inwanting to bring them to modern audiences. He wrote in The Times, “When a virgin audience,never having seen a silent comedy before, sees one on a big screen they are invariably shocked just how funny it is. Without being checked by dialogue, the laughter can roll and build, with theingenious beautiful sight gags, the wonderful compositions, the whole magic of cinema. It is a kind of comedy that challenges the imagination. With no dialogue to help us, we have toconcentrate on the pictures and what they tell us. Maybe the reward is bigger precisely because we put more into it.”