Festival Guests Include...
Neil Brand
Neil is the musical backbone of the slapstick festival. 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 20 years. Hot from the success of his BBC4 TV drama STAN Neil will delight us once more with his extraordinary abilities.
Go to Neil Brand's website >>
Tim Brooke Taylor
Tim Brooke-Taylor is a British comic actor - best known as a member of "The Goodies" and as one of the panel members of the radio shows I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again. A member of the footlights and ex-Lord Rector of the University of St. Andrews, Brooke-Taylor has worked with such luminaries as John Cleese and Gene Wilder, and on the opening event of the festival, he will be joining Graham
Garden and Peter Lord in paying tribute to silent era stunt heroes in How Did They Do That?
Gunter A Buchwald
Conductor, violinist, pianist and composer. Regularly a guest at international film festivals. Gunter (as last years festival guests will confirm) is able to accompany films simultaneously with both piano and the Violin! Gunter will accompany on piano and violin throughout the festival.
Go to Gunter's website >>
Graeme Garden
Besides being a qualified doctor of medicine, Graeme Garden is better known as a purveyor of quality silliness. His voice has graced such radio shows as I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again & I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, but it was his partnership with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie as television’s The Goodies that best represents Garden’s writing and acting genius. On this, his first visit to Slapstick, he talks with Peter Lord and David Wyatt on the topic of the silent comedy stunt man, in How Did They Do That?
Peter Lord
Long-time Buster Keaton fan Peter Lord is co-founder of Aardman Animations,the Bristol based animation company whose credits include the latest Wallace and Gromit movie. Peter is a life long honorary member of Bristol Silents and will be hosting Slaptick's opening event at Watershed on Thursday.
Go to the Aardman Animations website >>
Paul Merton
Our resident host and silent comedy champion returns for the third Slapstick weekend in Bristol, where, among other things, he will host an event looking at the work of comedian Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle.
Paul successfully brought silent comedy to a whole new audience this year with his Paul Merton's Silent Clowns TV series on BBC4. His energy and enthusiasm for the era is infectious.
Neil Innes
Just when we thought things couldn't get better at Slapstick 2007, Ex Bonzo Dog, Rutle, Sixth Python, Ego Warrior and global phenomenon Neil Innes has confirmed he will host a special event during the Slapstick 2007 festival.
Neil will introduce a rare screening of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah band's silent comedy of 1968 The Adventures of the Son of an Exploding Sausage.
Jean Darling
An original member of Hal Roach's OUR GANG troupe during the silent era has accepted our invitation as Special Guest for SLASPSTICK 2007. We are delighted that once again an actress with direct experience of the silent comedy era will be present at the festival. Jean will host a special event - A DATE WITH JEAN DARLING on Sunday 14th January.
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 and will be hosting two events over the weekend, The Chaplin Keystone restoration show and our hosting our ever popular panel discussion on Sunday.
Pordenone Silent Film Festival website >>
Richard Williams
Canadian-born Williams won an Academy Award for his use of 3D perspective movement in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and it is clear from the crazed antics of the title character that he has an abiding love of Slapstick. Director and animator of many other equally inspired creations, Williams will join the festival both to introduce events and to talk about his favourite silent comedy film in Desert Island Slapstick.
John Sweeney
John Sweeney started playing for silent movies in 1990 at Riverside Studios Cinema in London, with the support encouragement of it's film programmer Ed Lewis. Since then he has played many venues in the U.K. including the National Film Theatre, the Barbican Cinema, Nottingham Broadway and the Cambridge Film Festival. He has played at the Giornate in Italy since 2000. He has also worked extensively in the field of contemporary dance, both as a composer and as a pianist.