Lea Stans has been writing about the silent era on her blog Silent-ology since 2014, informed by her college interests and even younger fascinations with the obscure. Her 1902 picks reflect the increasing diversity of the worldwide filmic output of the year, from the French féerie genre to actuality chronicles of downtown Indianapolis and northern England.

Lea is also a columnist for Classic Movie Hub and has written for The Keaton Chronicle and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1902!

Films mentioned:

• Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show (1902) - Edwin S. Porter
• Ringling Bros. Circus Parade (1902) - unknown
• Living Wigan (1902) - unknown
• The Spring Fairy (1902) - Ferdinand Zecca
• A Trip to the Moon (1902) - Georges Méliès
• The Countryman and the Cinematograph (1901) - Robert W. Paul
• Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896) - Auguste and Louis Lumière
• London After Midnight (1927) - Tod Browning
• Freaks (1932) - Tod Browning
• The Cabbage Fairy (1900) - Alice Guy-Blaché
• A Trip to Jupiter (1909) - Segundo de Chomón
• The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ (1902) - Lucien Nonguet and Ferdinand Zecca
• The Impossible Voyage (1904) - Georges Méliès