Century-old action film helps HippFest bring home award to Bo'ness

Bo’ness Hippodrome Silent Film Festival – HippFest – has earned a prestigious award for screening a 105-year-old movie.
By James Trimble
Published 29th Jan 2021, 11:06 BST
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This year’s Silent London Awards presented the Best Real-World Film Screening of 2020 prize to HippFest for showing the film Filibus: The Mysterious Air Pirate (1915).

Organisers were able to screen the film – with live accompaniment by pianist Jane Gardner – at the Barony Theatre in Bo’ness just a week before the festival was cancelled and the country went into lockdown due to the COVID-10 pandemic at the end of March, 2020.

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It was also later screened online in November as part of the St Andrew’s Fair Saturday in Scotland.

A still from the 1915 film Filibus: The Mysterious Air Pirate which was screened for Bo'ness Hippodrome's HippfestA still from the 1915 film Filibus: The Mysterious Air Pirate which was screened for Bo'ness Hippodrome's Hippfest
A still from the 1915 film Filibus: The Mysterious Air Pirate which was screened for Bo'ness Hippodrome's Hippfest

HippFest also received an honourable mention from the Silent London Awards for its online screening of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1920) featuring Neil Brand on piano.

Alison Strauss, HippFest director, said: “Filibus was previewed back in March, on the eve of lockdown, at a community event in the heart of Bo’ness, kicking off the programme for our milestone 10th edition.

"We had all been so looking forward to sharing this terrific and little-known film with the wider audience, later in that week, but of course this was not to be. So we couldn’t be more pleased to receive this accolade from Silent London, or be more proud of musician Jane Gardner, or be more grateful to the legions of fans who voted for us in the poll.”

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Jane Gardner, added: “I’m delighted with this award, it was such a memorable evening for everyone involved, not just because we were all worried about the pandemic but also because it was such a lovely atmosphere at the Barony.

“Particularly when everyone joined in and made the sound of an airship when Filibus was fleeing from the scene of her crime. I really hope to have the opportunity to accompany more silent films at HippFest in the future.”

The 10th HippFest, organised by Falkirk Community Trust with support from Falkirk Council, Screen Scotland and Film Hub Scotland, goes online this year, running from March 17 to March 21.

The full programme will be announced on February 16.

Visit www.hippfest.co.uk for more information.

Related topics:Bo'nessScotlandOrganisers

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