HippCast

Man With a Movie Camera (1929) is the subject of today's HippCast release, as Digital Content Manager Christina is in conversation with Tim Vincent-Smith, one third of Edinburgh-based ensemble S!nk.

S!nk will be returning to Hippodrome Cinema this Saturday 7 November to accompany the film live - with not one but two pianos - alongside a host of other instruments. Tune in to HippCast Episode 40 to hear all about the soundscape the band are preparing to accompany the title, alongside musings on the film's enduring relevance.

Of course the episode also features plenty of chat about The Pianodrome, a live music venue built entirely from abandoned pianos, most recently finding home at St Oswalds in Bruntsfield (Edinburgh). Intrigued? Of course you are!

Relevant links

• Book tickets for Taste of Silents: Man With a Movie Camera (1929)
• Read a full English transcript of this episode here
• Stay up to date with S!nk
• Discover S!nk's music on bandcamp
• Learn more about The Pianodrome
• What's on at The Pianodrome

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.

Our speakers, in order of appearance:

• Christina Webber
• Serge Bromberg
• Kate Saccone
• Bryony Dixon
• Daan van den Hurk
• Laura Horak
• Pamela Hutchinson
• Stacey Wisnia
• Alison Strauss
• Joel Archer
• Melanie Selfe
• Ben Palmer

Relevant links

• A time-stamped English transcript of this episode is available to view here.
• Find out more about Le Giornate del Cinema Muto
• Follow Le Giornate on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok
• See the photographic documentation of Le Giornate on Flickr here
• Catch up on some of the festival's presentations and interviews via YouTube
• Read Pamela Hutchinson's wonderful daily festival recaps via Silent London

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!

Relevant links (orgs, events):

• Women Film Pioneers Project Overview Essays

• Follow Women Film Pioneers Project on Bluesky
• Follow Women Film Pioneers Project on Facebook
• Info on the upcoming 2027 conference Women and the Silent Screen XIII, “Transitions,” June 8-11, 2027
• Upcoming 2026 online event Entr'acte, November 6 - 7, 2026
• Follow Women and Film History International on Bluesky
• Follow Women and Film History International on Instagram
• Enter the inaugural ⁠Women and Film History International Student Project Award ⁠(deadline September 15th)

Relevant links (films, people, texts)

• Fatma Begum's Pioneer Profile
• Nina Niovilla's Pioneer Profile, director of Youth Triumphs/Młodość Zwycięża (1923)
• Mabel Normand's Pioneer Profile
• Gene Gauntier's Pioneer Profile
• Alma Reville's Pioneer Profile
• Alma Reville: in the shadow of Hitchcock? presented by Dr Josephine Botting
• More info on Adam and Eve/Adam a Eva (1922)
• Watch Adam and Eve/Adam a Eva (1922) at Bonn Stummfilmtage
• Pamela Hutchinson's The Curse of Queen Kelly
• Karen Pearlman's Breaking Plates
• Kino Lorber's Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers
• Kino Lorber's Cinema's First Nasty Women boxset
• Watch on YouTube: Lois Weber's Suspense (1913)
• Watch on YouTube: Florence Turner's Daisy Doodad's Dial (1914)

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:

• Access a full english transcript of this conversation here.
• Filmhouse first birthday party (Saturday 27 June)!
• Filmhouse birthday programme: We've Got A Cinema And We're Not Afraid To Use It
• Filmhouse birthday programme: Team Birthday Picks
• Filmhouse birthday programme: Top Filmhouse Films
• More info about Filmhouse Birthday programme and ticketing

In this month's episode we speak to silent film polymath Ben Model, discussing his recent publication The Silent Film Universe.

Digital Content Manager Christina had just finished reading when she spoke to Ben,  and picked out a couple of chapters from which to discuss a few key themes: audience participation in creating the story, text in silent film, and the undercranking phenomena: all about film speeds in filming and projection. Please enjoy!

Additional reading/ relevant links:

• A full English transcript of this episode is available here.
• Visit Ben's website
• Buy the book, The Silent Film Universe
• Listen to Ben's podcast: The Silent Film Music Podcast
• Read Ben's blog (including 'The Language of Silent Film' posts mentioned)
• Browse the wares at Undercrank Productions (*sale in June 2026!*)
• More about Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams
• Catch up with previous episodes of The Silent Comedy Watch Party
• Mentioned in the show: Marketing Without the Marketing with Michael Boezi
• Mentioned in the show: Akimbo: a podcast from Seth Godin
• WowHD

P.S Yes we do have a new musical hook! Wee musical excerpts at the episode start and finish are from our HippFest at Home presentation of Saxophone Susy, with as-live accompaniment from: Jane Gardner (piano), Hazel Morrison (percussion), John Burgess (saxophone, clarinet).

After a brief podcast break to deliver HippFest 2026, we're back in the audiosphere with the third iteration of our Young voices on 'old cinema' mini-series, featuring thoughts and reflections from some of our young attendees.

In this month's release we hear from Kitty Volino, a 19-year-old student who tuned in online from the Scottish Borders, plus 16-year-old Izzie Middleton, who joined us in-person in beautiful Bo'ness. Expect discussion on the whole gamut of silent film viewing - the combination of music and film, silent era happy endings, the feeling of 'watching together', intertitles, tinting, Baby Peggy - plus some stranger tangents (yes, Christina does mention Married At First Sight). Enjoy!

Additional reading/ relevant links:

• A full transcript of this episode is available here
• More information about Young Scot
• Captain January (novel) Wikipedia page, as discussed
• Tweet: Clip of Buster Keaton stunts alongside 'how it's made', as discussed
• Listen to our 2025 'Young voices' episode
• Listen to our 2024 'Young voices' episode

P.S Yes we do have a new musical hook! Wee musical excerpts at the episode start and finish are from our HippFest at Home presentation of Saxophone Susy, with as-live accompaniment from: Jane Gardner (piano), Hazel Morrison (percussion), John Burgess (saxophone, clarinet).

Can you BELIEVE it's only a matter of weeks before our sixteenth edition kicks off? Well believe it or not, it's true - and in preparation for last-minute booking quandaries we've prepared another Programme Picks episode to tempt you.

This year Digital Content Manager Christina Webber chats to The Skinny's Jamie Dunn and captain of the Hipp-ship, Festival Director Alison Strauss, to drill down into some of the silent titles most-anticipated coming up in 2026.

Which Sherlock Holmes is Jamie's favourite? Where is our Norwegian-ceilidh-club night? Which films have our students selected to work with for New Found Sound? And how many films HAD Baby Peggy starred in when shooting Captain January (1924)? All these questions and plenty more throughout the show.

If curious, the films selected by Jamie Dunn include: The Crowd (1928), The Bat (1926), The White Heather (1919), and Silent Sherlock: Three Classic Cases.

HippFest's own Alison Strauss chooses to speak about Fante-Anne (1920), New Found Sound, April Fool (1926), Captain January (1924), and Apart From You (1933).

Additional reading/ relevant links:

• Full English transcript of this episode available here.
• Jamie Dunn's HippFest 2026 preview in The Skinny
• Listen to The Skinny's film podcast, The Cineskinny
• More information on HippFest 2026 Festival Passes
• See the full HippFest 2026 programme
• Programme notes for The Bat (1926) by Allan Hunter
• Programme notes for Apart From You (1933) by Kelly Robinson
• Programme notes for The Crowd (1928) by David Cairns
• Programme notes for Silent Sherlock: Three Classic Cases by Bryony Dixon
• Programme notes for The White Heather (1919) by Kathy Rose O'Regan
• Watch Maurice Tourneur: Franco-American Film Pioneer

Happy new year HippCasters! We're back in the audiosphere with a brand new episode inspired by the premiere of a new music commission for Jean Epstein's Finis Terrae (1929), premiering at HippFest 2026.

Digital Content Manager Christina Webber catches up with Cinetopia's Amanda Rogers, plus musicians Dan Abrahams and Philippe Boudot as they begin creating a brand new soundscape for this film, set on a bleak island off the Breton coast. The film’s visual style, rich in atmosphere, and with a dual sense of menace and beauty, is an exciting invitation to the musicians whose folk-infused score will illuminate the thrilling elemental rhythm of this land and seascape.

The Finis Terrae project is produced by Cinetopia in collaboration with the Edinburgh Film Guild. It is funded by Cockaigne Fund, administered by Foundation Scotland, and with support from the Hope Scott Trust and Help Musicians. We are excited to host the world premiere of this new music commission as part of HippFest 2026.

Enjoy the show!

P.S Love HippCast? Please follow us on Spotify, or send your favourite episode to a friend. It helps!

Additional reading/relevant links

• Full speaker bios and an English transcript of this episode are available here
• Book tickets for the premiere of Finis Terrae (18 March) at HippFest 2026
• Cinetopia: Scotland's Film Community
• More info on Cinetopia's project I Ken Whaur I'm Guan
• More info on purchasing a HippFest 2026 Festival Pass
• Stay in touch with Dan Abrahams and Philippe Boudot
• More info about ⁠Dowally⁠ (Dan Abrahams and Rachel Petyt)

It's that time of year again! In today's episode - a festive special featuring plenty of yule tide tangents - we talk to author Sarah Cook about 'silent' Christmas. Digital Content Manager Christina Webber has questions: were Christmas movies a thing in the silent era? Would we recognise some of the tropes of today's Christmas film in the movies made a century ago? And why does the iconography of a Victorian Christmas still have such a hold on our imaginations?

Listen along to Episode 31 to hear about all this and more. As another tempting teaser, Sarah also shares a little bit with us on 'creepy' Christmas - see below - and we've included a plethora of additional reading and viewing links in the show notes in case your interest is suitably piqued...Additional reading/ relevant links:

• Read the full English transcript of this episode
• Read 'The best Christmas films of the Silent Era' by Sarah Cook (courtesy of Film Stories)
• Watch Santa Claus (1898) on BFI Player
• Watch Harold Shaw's A Christmas Carol (1914) on BFI Player
• Watch The Night Before Christmas (1913) on YouTube
• Watch HippFest at Home: 'A New Look at Our Oldest Films', an illustrated presentation on Victorian film made for HippFest 2024 by Bryony Dixon
• Read more about the portrait commissioned by Prince Albert in 1848 (courtesy of the V&A)
• A great Christmas film every year from 1925 to now (courtesy of the BFI)
• More information on purchasing a HippFest 2026 Festival Pass