The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival and Cal Poly Arts have collaborated to present The Silent Kings of Comedy on May 23 at 3 p.m at SLO’s very own PAC. The event pairs live music—including the Forbes Pipe Organ—with a trio of short comedies starring silent comedy legends Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. The event is the fourth in a series of silent film events sponsored by the film festival.
Festival Director Wendy Eidson selected the three films, the earliest of which (and last on the evening’s program) was made in 1916 and starred Charlie Chaplin. The Vagabond is about a down-on-his-luck fiddler who falls in love with a woman who has been kidnapped by gypsies. Appropriately enough, Los Angeles based Fishtank Ensemble, a musical troupe that marries jazz, gypsy music, opera, and flamenco, will accompany the film.
First up will be the 1920 flick The Scarecrow, a Buster Keaton film, accompanied by the Central Coast troupe Candlelight Strings. The film tells the tale of two farmhands both attempting to secure the farmer’s daughter in marriage. In High and Dizzy, a doctor falls in love with a patient he is supposed to treat for sleepwalking. Bay area musician Christian Elliott will perform on the Forbes Pipe Organ to accompany the film.
Tickets cost $25, or $15 for students and SLOIFF Film Society members, and can be purchased by visiting pacslo.org or stopping by the PAC box office between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday. For additional information about the SLOIFF visit slofilmfest.org. ∆
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