Festival Guests include...
Neil Brand
Considered one of the finest exponents of improvised silent film accompaniment in the world, pianist and composer Neil Brand has been accompanying silent films for over 19 years.
Go to the Neil Brand website >>
Gunter A Buchwald
Conductor, violinist, pianist and composer Günter is one of the co-founders of the silent film renaissance since 1978. He is regularly a guest at international film festivals. Uniquely he seems to be able to accompany simultaneously with piano and the Violin!
Go to the Stummfilmmusik website >>
Peter Lord
Long-time Buster Keaton fan Peter Lord is co-founder of Aardman Animations, the Bristol based animation company whose credits include Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts and Chicken Run. Peter is a life long honorary member of Bristol Silents.
Go to the Aardman Animations website >>
Paul Merton
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Host of Room 101 and regular team leader on Have I Got News For You. Merton is a huge silent comedy fan, his favourites are Keaton and Chaplin.
Paul McGann
Actor Paul McGann is another a silent film fan and a regular contributor to Bristol Silents events. He performs in the festival with his group The Matinee Idles, a live acapella group, which also includes ex-members of 'Darts', the doo-wop group who had a string of chart hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Matinee Idles
Remember 'Darts'? DARTS were a nine-strong doo-wop group whose brand of visual excitement and tight harmonies earned them rave reviews wherever they played. They had a string of chart hits in the late seventies and early eighties selling millions of singles and charting three number twos in a row. They were one of the most successful touring bands of their period. Original band members Den Hegarty and Griff Fender re-unite with fellow ex-Darts member Pikey Butler to perform a selection of acapella numbers to two films over the festival days. They are joined by acclaimed actor Paul McGann who performed with Darts in the eighties with 'The McGann Brothers' during a successful run of the west end musical Yakedy Yak. Debbie Charles from the excellent 'MJs' completes the five piece vocal line up. Griff, a long time fan of Keaton's was keen to embrace the project and worked long and hard with Paul to select appropriate numbers before coming up with the Cadillacs 'Speedo' as the perfect opening theme. A song familiar to film fans of Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. For Darts fans a chance to hear those original voices once more and for fans of Keaton a chance to hear a fresh live accompaniment to some of Buster's finest moments.
Go to the Darts website >>
David Robinson
Bristol Silents patron David is Pordenone Film Festivals ' Creative Director, a film critic, author and film historian. David has been one of Bristol Silents greatest supporters.
Pordenone Silent Film Festival website >>
David Wyatt
Author, researcher and programmer. David is a champion of silent comedy having programmed comedy seasons for the national film theatre and various festivals around the world.