Show Notes
Introducing our exciting new co-commission: WHAT THE WATER REMEMBERS, including the first film to be announced for our fifteenth edition, THE DARK MIRROR (2025)!
Hear all about a brand new venture for HippFest, an exciting new joint commission with Flatpack Festival in Birmingham called What the Water Remembers. This project features a new film titled The Dark Mirror, made by artist Moira Salt, with a new score created by Tommy Perman and Andrew Wasylyk, which will premiere at HippFest 2025 on Saturday 22 March, 2025, before reprising at Flatpack Festival in May.
Based on research into the Falkirk archives and using footage from the BFI National Archive, Media Archive Central England, Collection Eye Film Museum Netherlands, and the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive, this creative non-fiction film brings some of the many stories of these waterways to life. It was brilliant to be able to chat to the team in the midst of this work, whilst they continue to develop the film and soundscape you will hear in March.
The film and music are currently in production and promise to weave an engrossing, mythological tale fashioned from the rich history and cultural significance of canals... Tune in to hear all about it!
Relevant links:
More info on artist Moira Salt. More info on musicians Tommy Perman and Andrew Wasylyk. Mark your diaries! The What the Water Remembers exhibition opens at Bo'ness Library on Friday 14th February. Book your HippFest Festival Pass to get the very best value at HippFest 2025. As always a full English transcript of this episode can be found here: https://hippfest.wordpress.com/2025/01/30/hippcast-episode-22/
More from HippCast
A HippFest presence in Pordenone every Autumn is something of a tradition thanks to Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, but this year, with support from the Creative Scotland Expanded Festivals Fund, Digital Content Manager Christina was able to join Festival Director Alison Strauss for the trip. Relishing the buzz in the square surrounding Teatro Verdi, for HippCast Episode 39 we were excited to capture some of the delicious silent film chatter on 'tape'... Or rather, smartphone and tiny bluetooth microphone. Please note that all of these interviews were recorded by grabbing people with only a few minutes to spare, outside in a public place. This means that all the on-site recordings feature varying degrees of background noise. Hopefully that makes the experience immersive as opposed to distracting... We are very grateful to all of our wonderful speakers who were happy to chat! Enjoy the show.
Hello HippCasters, we're back in the audiosphere this month with a double whammy of musical goodness! In today's show we hear from Jane Gardner and Hazel Morrison, a familiar and much beloved HippFest duo, following their recent visit to Tromsø Silent Film Days and ahead of their performance as part of our Taste of Silents season accompanying Murnau's Faust (1926). Conversation varies merrily from the days of silent film on British TV, to some of the stranger instruments (/body parts?) used in past scores, and of course a wee musical preview of what to expect in October. As always, a full English transcript, and more information about Jane and Hazel, can be found here. Happy listening! Relevant links See all the screenings in our 2026 Taste of Silents season Faust (1926) with music accompaniment from Jane and Hazel Check out Jane Gardner's website here Read the 2023 blog by Alison Strauss Silent Siblings: HippFest Goes to Tromsø Silent Film Days Learn more about Tromsø Silent Film Days Learn more about some of the screenings mentioned (including The Goose Woman - 1925, The Grub Stake - 1923) by reading our Programme Notes
Our podcast guest this month is none other than the wonderful Kate Saccone! Kate is a film curator, scholar, and editor based in Amsterdam. She received her PhD from the University of Amsterdam in May 2026. She is the project manager and an editor of The Women Film Pioneers Project and currently serves as board president of Women and Film History International. In this month's episode Kate and Christina, our HippFest Digital Content Manager, chat about the breadth of Kate’s expertise, feminist historiographies, and the twin joys and challenges of uncovering and re-learning how we think about early cinema. As Kate states in the show, silent film culture is really thriving, and thus the conversation features a host of excellent recommendations for films, film-makers, organisations, research and other enticing silent era thought-threads. Make sure to check the links below for all the resources mentioned throughout, and as always, a full English transcript of the conversation is available here. Happy listening!
Filmhouse are turning one! Technically tomorrow (Saturday 27 June 2026), but who's counting? In today's show we hear from Program Manager Raymah Tariq, who reflects on the first year since re-opening in June 2025. The discussion includes a peek behind-the-scenes at programming strategy, Filmhouse first birthday celebrations and the 'We Have A Cinema And We're Not Afraid To Use It' strand, and how silent film/ wider repertory cinema fits into contemporary scheduling. Additional reading/ relevant links:
In this month's episode we speak to silent film polymath Ben Model, discussing his recent publication The Silent Film Universe.