HippCast The Hippodrome Silent Film Festival

In Episode 14, Digital Content Manager Christina Webber speaks to three first-time HippFest attendees about their experience at Scotland's first and only Festival of silent cinema and live music.

Hear a collection of insights on this year's programme from Festival Supporter Pass Holder Uliana Ischenko-Iten, and our two Young Scot Reward Pass Holders Alanna Steele and Eve Jeffreys. All three share a surprise that the screenings were so busy, an appreciation of our Platform Reels screening of The Flying Scotsman on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway, plus mentions of The Organist at St. Vitus Cathedral, and our closing night feature The Wind. Opinions on the post-screening entertainment at our Friday Night Gala differ, and a warm appreciation for Hippodrome Cinema shines through from everyone reflecting on their time in Bo'ness.

Save the date! HippFest will return next year from the 19-23 March 2025. We hope to see you then.




You can access a full transcript of this episode here.

It's the annual 'programme picks' episode - a listener favourite! - and with only one week to go, what better time to have another look over the line-up?


We hear from Festival Director Alison Strauss who urges audiences to check out The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric (1933) either in-person or via live-stream, plus squeezes in every Frances Marion title under the guise of one: Just Around the Corner (1921), available to view either in-person or via live-stream; Natalie Allison (Festival Producer) who is proud to present a Friday Night Gala screening of Mantrap (1926), and recommends audiences check out New Found Sound; Nell Cardozo (HippFest Development & Engagement Officer) who was blown away by the contemporary resonance of The Norrtull Gang (1923), and points audiences towards the free Pen-to-Picture exhibition at Bo'ness Library; Paul Eames (Falkirk Council Team Leader for Cultural Services) who is looking forward to re-living a memorable first viewing of The Wind (1928), seconds a need for audiences to see New Found Sound, and also recommends Queen of Sports (1934); Lesley O'Hare (Falkirk Council Cultural Services Manager) who jointly anticipates the exploits of mischievous children in both Adventures of Half a Ruble (1929) and Oliver Twist (1922); and finally Marketing Manager Abbie Dobson, whose first choice is Jenny Hammerton's Cooking with Joan Crawford workshop, followed by the gothic architecture and cinematography of The Organist at St Vitus Cathedral (1929).



You can check out the full programme and everything else you need to know ahead of HippFest 2024 here: https://www.hippodromecinema.co.uk/silent-film-festival/

Today's episode is centred around the upcoming HippFest 2024 opening night on Wednesday 20th March, The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric. Directed by Jenny Gilbertson, nee Jenny Brown. HippFest is proud to present this extraordinary film with the world premiere of our new music commission created by award winning multi instrumentalist and composer from Fair Isle, Inge Thomson, collaborating with another Shetland born musician, Catriona Macdonald, who is considered to be one of the world's leading traditional fiddle players.

Digital Content Manager Christina chats to both musicians about their upcoming collaboration, and conversation meanders from discussing Jenny Gilbertson's sensitivity when film-making, to the incredible skill of the Shetland fishermen and crofters who turned their hand to acting in the 1933 film, to particular sounds that viewers can expect during the performance (Shetlanders make note - the Unst Bridal March will feature), and the joy of this unique musical collaboration.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy, ahead of our second pre-Festival presentation premiering on Friday 23 February, which will dig a little deeper into the extraordinary life and career of Jenny Gilbertson...



Relevant links


An English transcript of this episode is available here
More about Inge Thomson⁠⁠
More about Catriona Macdonald⁠


Tickets for the in-person screening of The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric
Tickets for the online live-stream of The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric
Tickets for the online premiere of Jenny Gilbertson: 'A Real Illuminator'

In Episode 11 we mark one full calendar year since starting the show by tantalising you with a bit of background about some of our events from the 2024 Festival Programme, revealing both an illustrated talk and an exciting hands-on workshop that will both be part of our exciting line-up. So in the first revelation of 2024 ... (drum roll) ... we are delighted to welcome upcoming HippFest 2024 guest, Jenny Hammerton!

Jenny is the wonderful woman behind Silver Screen Suppers: the wonderful world of film star dining and drinking, a blog documenting the dishes of Hollywood icons from the silent era (and beyond). If you want to try your hand at concocting Lilian Gish's lemon pie, or trying Rudolph Valentino's 'secret spaghetti sauce', head over to Silver Screen Suppers and browse the 8000+ tried and tested recipes which await.

In today's episode Digital Content Manager Christina Webber, a self proclaimed highly food-motivated individual, chats to Jenny about the origins of Silver Screen Suppers, some of the standout successes and failures Jenny has sampled along the way, the bizarre and delightful world of Eve's Film Review, Joan Crawford's aversion to bar stalls and her passion for candlelit dinners, and the ultimate conclusion that TikTok is the contemporary consumer's Cinemagazine of today.

The full 2024 programme will be released on Tuesday 6 February, and tickets for both events will be bookable then. Jenny is also offering Festival Pass Holders an exclusive discount on books purchased directly from her store, details of which will be sent out in the exclusive PassHolder ahead of programme release - so if you're keen to grab a Pass early, click here whilst there's still some left! For now, though supper's served! We hope you enjoy the episode.



Various relevant URLS


A full episode transcript is available here: https://hippfest.wordpress.com/2024/01/31/hippcast-episode-11/
Silver Screen Suppers: https://www.silverscreensuppers.com/about
Cooking with Joan Crawford: https://www.silverscreensuppers.com/joan-crawford-cookbook
HippFest Festival Passes: https://www.hippodromecinema.co.uk/ticket-subscription/

In today's episode we hear from Gregg McNeill of ⁠Darkbox Images⁠, discussing the tangibility of analogue processes and why wet plate collodion (a Victorian photographic technology) endures to this day.

Gregg lives and works in Larbert as a photographer and
film-maker, employing both digital and analogue photographic processes to create beautiful and unique images. We are fortunate enough to be hosting Gregg at HippFest 2024, where we know our audiences will savour the opportunity to sit for a unique portrait to take home.

Excitingly, Gregg is offering a special perk for Festival
Pass Holders, who will receive a complimentary debossed cabinet card to display their portrait in style! 

In conversation with Digital Content Manager (and podcast wrangler) Christina - who incidentally, is also an analogue photographer - Gregg discusses the fundamentally physical process of shooting 16mm film, how lens-based technology has affected how we see and tell stories, the beauty of the collodion process, and the value of physical photographic ephemera.

 

Relevant links:


Corresponding blog post and show transcript: https://www.hippfest.wordpress.com


Support Gregg via his Patreon account:
https://www.patreon.com/DarkboxImages
Check out Darkbox Images: https://www.darkboximages.com/
Book a HippFest 2024 Festival Pass:
https://www.hippodromecinema.co.uk/ticket-subscription/
More on Frederick Scott Archer, inventor of the collodion
process: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Scott_Archer

In today's release we are delighted to share a conversation that took place earlier this month at the University of Edinburgh, hosted by Jane Sillars, Programme Director of the Masters in Film, Exhibition and Culture, along with Lizelle Bisschoff, who runs the Film Curation Masters at the University of Glasgow. The conversation featured the participation of Lisa Hoen, Director of the Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF), who made a pit stop in Edinburgh on her way from Norway to the Reykjavik International Film Festival. The event and the following dialogue grew out of a research visit to TIFF's Silent Film Days, undertaken by HippFest Director Alison Strauss and Nell Cardozo, HippFest Development and Engagement Officer, in April 2023.

In the discussion, you'll hear how HippFest and TIFF's Silent Film Days are carving out a space for silent film with live music in contemporary cinema programming, and about some of the considerations of film curation in this specialised area. Lisa's experiences programming art house and archive film in the Arctic Circle are invaluable, and we are grateful to be able to share this insightful conversation. Expect consideration of some of the challenges to silent film programming, alongside wider topics such as the crucial importance of cinemas as social spaces, and the transformative power of live music with silent cinema. We hope you enjoy!


Relevant links:


Read the show transcript in full here
Read Alison's account of the trip to TIFF from earlier this year
More about Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF)
More about TIFF's Silent Film Days
More about Jo Reid's The Freedom Machine