2nd Globe Int’l Silent Film Festival in Michigan

The second edition of Globe International Silent Film Festival (GISFF) will be held from April 3-5 at Michigan State University in the US.

GISFF is run by a group of Iranian film buffs of the university who have formed the Persian Students Association at the MSU in collaboration with the University Activity Board, Mehr News Agency reported.

The 1st edition of the festival was held last May in Iran at the Art University of Tehran, with the support of the House of Cinema and the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology.

Organizers of the festival have decided to host it in a different academic environment in a new country every year so that film enthusiasts are exposed to silent cinema; it can also help create a new wave of interest in silent filmmaking in various cities.

As the organizers said, the silent era of cinema (1895-1936) had an important role in making the picture and the mise en scène richer and more powerful. Silent cinema is still carrying a large portion of avant-garde and artistic films many years after the introduction of sound in cinema (1927).

Silent films refer to films without dialogue or narration and recount their story through the language of imagery, just as a painting.

The event aims to gather, screen and respect these creative films as silent film is the basis of today’s modern cinema.

The festival selection committee has started reviewing the submissions and the selected films will be announced in the last week of January.

The GISFF competition section will be carried out in four categories: fiction, documentary, animation and experimental. The best of each category as well as the best director and the best script will be awarded. Two movies selected by the jury and the audience will also receive awards.