Group 6 - Blog Post #1

Blog Post #1 (Group 6) - Ellie, Sam, Gefei and Michael - 2/6
Author: Michael 
Editors: Ellie, Sam, Gefei

In our initial few meetings, we discussed which theatres, venues, or film festivals that we would be interested in investigating further. Quite quickly, we came to the decision to select a film festival, because of its scope and relevance to the Bay and Chinese cinema in America in contrast to individual theatres or venues. We ended up choosing the SF Silent Film Festival at the Castro Theatre because its known for being a safe place for queer identity and, in the process, the uplifting of other voices, too. This emphasis on representation of minority social groups was important to us and influenced our decision-making. 

With regard to group roles and strategy for research, we decided to divide up the work based on each of the five blog posts. Each group member is in charge of the research and writing of one blog post along with a combined effort for the fifth and final blog post. We chose to assign particular topics of research for each blog post, so that we cover all the relevant components of our project. We also noted the option to be flexible and adapt our research strategy as time goes on and our understanding of the festival shapes. 

The SF Silent Film Festival at Castro Theatre

We began our project by researching into the history of the festival itself, of the Castro Theatre and its importance within cinema in the Bay. The SF Silent Film Festival opened in 1996 at the Castro Theatre and has been hosted there ever since. It is the largest silent film festival in the US, and its main focus as a festival is in film preservation—attempting to keep interest in historical film alive. 

The Castro Theatre in 1930s

In the early 20th century when the Castro Theatre—home to the SF Silent Film Festival—first opened, it quickly grew in size and garnered much attention from locals. By 1922, the founding members of the Castro had expanded into a 2000 person venue. The Castro Theatre was in fact essential in the economic development of the local Eureka Valley area in San Francisco, where progress of the theatre in the early 20th century was in correlation with the sharp rise in real estate values. The Castro Theatre also had great importance in the representation of LGBTQ community in film, pioneering the screenings of gay film series throughout the late 20th century. 

As our research continues, our understanding of the Castro Theatre and the SF Silent Film Festival in relation to Chinese cinema will grow and shape our path for the rest of this project. As of now, we feel that the main focus of our project will be on the history of Chinese cinema screened at the festival and theatre, along with its significance within the Bay Area and in relation to the representation of Chinese film more broadly.