Established as Silent Sundays by founding programmer Eric Veillette in 2009, Silent Revue is Toronto’s only year-round film series dedicated to silent cinema. Monthly screenings of rare silent films are combined with live accompaniment drawn from local musicians within Toronto.

Improvised scores were the dominant art form of providing silent film soundtracks in 1895-1930. This art form, which is only taught in a handful of university programs and music schools, is crucial to Silent Revue’s artistic vision: to provide Toronto music and film lovers alike with a unique, historically authentic experience of the silent era. Over the past ten years, Silent Revue has hosted over 85 presentations of rare films with live musical accompaniment. Celebrating its ten-year milestone in 2019, it is currently the longest, continuously running repertory film series in the city.

Silent Revue is generously sponsored by Hollywood Suite, with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Alicia Fletcher is a media archivist and programmer dedicated to promoting and advocating for the preservation of the moving image and its ephemera. Having worked for post-secondary institutions, archives, and cultural organizations, she specializes in educational initiatives that facilitate access to film, new media, and photography. In particular, Alicia is an impassioned silent film enthusiast, and since 2013 has programmed and curated Silent Revue at The Revue Cinema, Toronto’s only year-round dedicated selection of silent films in a theatrical venue. Her silent film programming also appears at TIFF Cinematheque on a seasonal basis.

Alicia’s film criticism appears regularly in Cinema Scope Magazine and she is a member of the Visual Researchers Society of Canada.

FEATURED MUSICIANS

Makia Matsumura (New York, NY) / Carl Zittrer (Pittsburgh, PA) / Marilyn Lerner (Toronto) / Fern Lindzon (Toronto) / William O’Meara (Toronto) / Jordan Klapman (Toronto) / Jeff Rapsis (Bedford, NH) / Tania Gill (Toronto) / John MacMurchy (Toronto) / John Collin (Toronto) / Matt Brubeck (Toronto) / Nick Fraser (Toronto) / James Dunbar (Toronto)

Back to Revue Series