Since 1997, the Kansas Silent Film Festival has brought a curated selection of silent short films and full-length features to audiences in Topeka every year. All showings are accompanied by live organ or piano music, and admission is free to the public.
This year, the 27th Annual Kansas Silent Film Festival will be held Friday and Saturday at Washburn University’s White Concert Hall.
The latest installment of the festival features titles from the National Film Registry, which is a collection of culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant works selected for preservation by the National Film Preservation Board. Audiences can look forward to an introduction to the National Film Registry by media preservationist Katherine Pratt, a series of early short films, a 100th-anniversary screening of “The Navigator” (1924) starring Buster Keaton, a Kansas Silent Film Festival documentary, and much more.
“It annually brings persons from throughout the Midwest as well as from both coasts to Topeka for the two-day event,” said festival founder Jim Rhodes. “Most of the films reflect the times from 1895 through 1930 and appeal to persons from 3 to 93!”
Part of what makes the festival both a popular entertainment event and a valuable cultural resource is the rarity and inaccessibility of many early silent films. The Kansas Silent Film Festival brings the experience of silent film viewing — with musical accompaniment — to modern audiences while also educating them on the history of the films and preservation techniques.
Altogether, the two days of events educate viewers about their cultural heritage.
The Kansas Silent Film Festival brings the experience of silent film viewing — with musical accompaniment — to modern audiences while also educating them on the history of the films and preservation techniques.
– Abby Bayani-Heitzman
This year’s festival includes formerly lost films, such as “Duck Soup,” (1927) starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. No copies of the comedy were thought to survive until one was discovered in 1974. These showings could be one of the only times audiences have the opportunity to see such films as they were originally presented.
The festival will feature film commentary from Denise Morrison and accompaniment by organists Marvin Faulwell and Bill Benningfield, pianists Ben Model, Jeff Rapsis and Rodney Sauer, and percussionist Bob Keckeisen, as well as other speakers and performers.
Although all film showings are free to the public, audiences also have the option of purchasing a ticket to the festival’s Cinema-Dinner event, which will feature a presentation by Katherine Pratt on her work in media preservation. Learn how to reserve a ticket to the Cinema-Dinner and view the festival’s full program at www.kssilentfilmfest.org.
The 27th Annual Kansas Silent Film Festival begins at 1:30 p.m. on Friday at White Concert Hall on the Washburn University campus and runs all day the following Saturday.
The festival is made possible by contributions from the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, Washburn University, KTWU, local businesses, foundations and individual donors. Festival founder Rhodes was employed by the library when he and a small group of film enthusiasts organized the first Kansas Silent Film Festival, and the foundation of community networks and local support has ensured the festival’s continued success over the years.
Abby Bayani-Heitzman is a writer for the Prairie Band Potawatomi News. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.