So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen 2020–The Silent Community Year In Review

Happy New Year’s Eve, my friends–and how. As I look back on the year that has been 2020, I can’t help recalling what I wrote for 2019’s “Year in Review” post: “I, for one, welcome the impending return of the Twenties. Let’s make ’em Roaring!”

Errr, I’m not detecting any roaring, are you? And we’re definitely not partying like a 1928 Joan Crawford movie, which was also one of my predictions for 2020. At least, not partying yet.

Slow your roll, Joan. All in good time.

Anyways, it’s time for my hopefully helpful annual review of silent film-related news. It was a lighter news year than most, it seems, probably because so many projects and festivals were either cancelled or postponed, but I hope you find this roundup interesting nonetheless! Also, me spending extra time outdoors this year + having crappy or intermittent Internet for months = more news sneaking past me, so please, feel free to chime in with any significant info I might have missed.

Sayonara, 2019–The Silent Community Year In Review

Happy New Year, my friends! Now that the last hours of the 2010s are ticking away, you know what that means…..! 

THE ’20S ARE COMING BACK!!! (Exactly like this.)

I, for one, welcome the impending return of the Twenties. Let’s make ’em Roaring!

Before we start partying like a 1928 Joan Crawford movie, let’s look back on 2019’s various silent-related film discoveries, restorations, home video releases, and other noteworthy events. I try to keep a running list of film news throughout the year, which largely depends on what I randomly stumble across, so hopefully this “year in review” post is pretty thorough. But if I missed anything super obvious and important, please let me know! (And remember that it needs to be an event/discovery/release from 2019 specifically.)

How Did You Get Into Silent Films?

It’s been a cool, grey, rainy couple of days up here in Minnesota, so I’m in an introspective mood and decided to write a “get to know me better” kind of post. Feel free to share your own stories!

When folks ask me how I got so enamored with silent films (apparently this isn’t common…?) I usually have a ready answer–because I’ve thought the question over myself. It’s been interesting to ponder: how did I get so obsessed with century-old movies? Why am I more compelled to study them than more recent films like ’50s musicals or ’30s comedies? Is it just because those are so alarmingly recent? (Okay, fine–comparatively recent.)

See, to me, this came out yesterday.

Now that I think of it, there were several stepping stones that lead to this love of super old movies.