Group 6 Blog #2

Group 6 Blog #2 2/28

Author: Gefei

Editors: Sam, Ellie, Michael

Since our initial research, our group has continued to research primary and secondary sources on the SF Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) at the Castro Theater. By accessing the SF Silent Film Library and event archive, we learned that SFSFF has had a direct hand in the restoration and preservation of silent-era titles. The festival has partnered with organizations such as BFI, MoMA, Cinémathèque Française, EYE Filmmuseum, Library of Congress, the Film Preservation Society, Gosfilmofond, and the Polish National Film Archive to restore dozens of films, and showcasing them during the past 24 festivals all held at the Castro Theater. This year will be the 25th annual SFSFF. 

In addition to the preservation fund at SFSFF, our group also wanted to conduct a deep dive into the Chinese and East Asian silent films shown at the festival. Through their official archive, we were able to access essays and film descriptions on various Chinese silent films and programs. Besides films, the SFSFF also features rarely-seen footage of everyday life shot in China between 1900 and 1948. In an essay by BFI Curator Edward Anderson, he introduces Around China with a Movie Camera, a program compiled in 2015 that features excerpts from documentaries, newsreels, travelogues, home movies, and missionary films shot by a diverse group of British and French filmmakers. The group of filmmakers included some professionals, but mostly amateurs, including tourists, expatriates, and missionaries. Around China with a Movie Camera features excerpts as far back as the days of the late Qing dynasty, where viewers can get a glimpse of the cosmopolitan Shanghai in 1900 as well as the Imperial Beijing in 1910.

Besides Around China with a Movie Camera, SFSFF also features silent films that are of great importance in China’s film history such as The Goddess by Wu Yonggang, a leftist writer-director who survived the Communist takeover and the Cultural Revolution, and Little Toys by Sun Yu, which shows a rich blend of romance and social commentary. 

Through researching secondary sources such as the Center for Asian American Media, we noticed that the SFSFF has collaborated with many organizations to co-present Chinese films, including the Center for Asian American Media as well as the Center for the Art of Translation. It’s evident that the SFSFF takes into consideration the diversity of perspectives, historical significance, and relevance to the Asian American community when curating various screenings of Chinese films. 

As a next step, we would like to continue researching other East Asian films featured at the SFSFF and their significance to the Asian American community. We might consider looking into the decision-making process on how the festival evaluates the cultural and historical significance of each film or program that was showcased and the different organizations they collaborate with.

Sources:

SFSFF The Goddess https://silentfilm.org/the-goddess/

Around China with a Movie Camera https://silentfilm.org/around-china-with-a-movie-camera/#:~:text=of%20Silents%202015-,Around%20China%20with%20a%20Movie%20Camera%3A%20A%20Journey%20from,to%20Shanghai%20(1900%E2%80%931948)&text=Excerpts%20from%20documentaries%2C%20newsreels%2C%20travelogues,of%20British%20and%20European%20visitors.

CAAM co-presenting Little Toys at SFSFF https://caamedia.org/blog/2012/07/02/caam-co-presents-little-toys-at-sf-silent-film-festival-july-12-15/