English
Interestingly, Madrid in recent years seems to be experiencing a mini-boom of healthy interest in silent film projections. There has been a proliferation of programs promoting this oft-overlooked genesis of cinematic arts, and institutions lending their support range from the Juan March Foundation to such dynamic, self-managed, alternative cultural centers as CSA La Tabacalera.
This trend has allowed us to be exposed to with films that show the essential tools of the medium of film, those that were used when the filmmakers could not rely on words to tell a story and had to make do with the characteristic elements of the purely visual moving-image. These limitations have led more than a few critics and famous directors to talk about this period as the real golden age of cinema in its purest form, if one of course can speak of some kind absolute purity in art or life. The cultural association La Bagatela (calle Tres Peces, 34), located in the very authentic, colorful and multicultural neighborhood of Lavapiés, has put together an interesting schedule of an essentially educational nature, which perhaps accounts for the excessively canonical nature of the films that are projected.
That cycle is just an appetizer of what’s to come this fall. At the Filmoteca on calle Santa Isabel 3, less than five minutes from La Bagatela, there will be a loop projecting the seminal silent propaganda films of Leni Riefenstahl, “Olympia” and “Triumph of the Will” and in the month of December a very ambitious program with a number of recently restored short films by Charles Chaplin, where you can enjoy the great British film talent in their training. Just a little further down the street in the Reina Sofia, you can find an exhibit featuring the work of one of the most interesting pioneers of Spanish cinema Val de Omar through February 28th.
Paul Oilzum
Prepare yourself for a splendid revival of silent film in the vibrant multiethnic neighborhood of Lavapies, which houses some of the most picturesque buildings and apartments in Madrid .?
