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