Writeup of Arisia

[nohwhere-man.livejournal.com]

There's a very nice writeup of the con by the silent film organist (but not a fan), Jeff Rapsis, on his blog:

It was perhaps the most improbable silent film screening I've done yet: Buster Keaton's Civil War epic 'The General' (1927) as part of a massive annual science fiction and fantasy convention at Boston's Westin Hotel.
[...]
I said sure, not quite understanding what an unusual event this is. What was Buster's Civil War epic doing at a sci-fi/fantasy convention? It was primarily a matter of print availability, it seems, but the more I think about it afterwards, the more it makes sense. All silent film is a fantasy of sorts, and early railroad locomotives were the high tech monsters of their time, an original expression of the "Steampunk" mindset.
[...]

Comments

[ron_newman]

cool writeup. But is this actually true?

turns out the Arisia gathering is the only science fiction/fantasy festival in the United States that still runs actual film as part of its programming

[selkiechick]

I am pretty certain the Sci-Fi Marathon runs film, does that not count because it's a film festival, not a convention?

[ron_newman]

I'd call that "not a convention".

Boskone has an accompanied silent film scheduled, Faust, but i don't know if it will actually be on real film.

[madfilkentist]

It will be from the Kino DVD, projected onto a screen.

[nohwhere-man.livejournal.com]

Sci-Fi Marathon is in a commercial theater, not a hotel or convention center, and I wouldn't count it as a convention. Heck, most of the recent Worldcons don't run real film anymore (Renovation-no, Aussiecon-?, Denvention-no, Nippon-??, LAcon-maybe, Interaction-??, N4-YES, Torcon-??, ConJose-no, MilPhil-YES).

I suspect that the writer wouldn't know that 'con' is a term of art for most of us, so substituted 'festival'.

[buddykat.livejournal.com]

But is this actually true?

No, it is not. Lunacon has an evening program of 16mm film. Others may do it also, but I only know of Lunacon for sure.

[noeltheone.livejournal.com]

I believe the accurate statement is "Arisia is the only SF convention in the United States that still runs _35mm_ film as part of its programming." There are still a few running 16mm, and a lot that have given up running celluloid altogether.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi everyone! Just a quick note from Jeff Rapsis, the musician who accompanied the silent film at this year's Arisia and who wrote about it on my blog. I very much appreciate everyone's comments and feedback, and I hope the perspective of a non-regular was interesting to attendees. I really did enjoy the experience and hope it's possible to return for future editions.

I've updated my post to include a reference to the other festival that still runs actual film, and encourage any other feedback. It's great to know of at least one other that runs traditional film!

Finally, because I've posted several entries since the one about Arisia, the above link does not go directly to the write-up. Here's a more specific link that should get you there directly: http://silentfilmlivemusic.blogspot.com/2012/01/buster-in-fantasy-land.html


Thanks again for making a visitor feel welcome! All the best!

Jeff Rapsis, silent film accompanist
www.jeffrapsis.com