Outdoor Cinema Silent Film Series at Fed Square

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Fri 26 Feb 2021 - Thu 01 Apr 2021

The Outdoor Cinema Silent Film Series is yet another FREE event at Federation Square , and is co-presented by the soon-to-be reopened ACMI , Melbourne's home of gaming, films and screen culture and Goethe-Institut (for the 1st event), the cultural liaison between Germany and Australia. Each of these films will be accompanied by musicians performing live to create a new, original and fantastical soundtrack. It's all about the music! The best part is that there's no booking required. Just park your tush on comfy seating and enjoy the big screen and the live sound filling the air from 7.15pm to late for each of these 4 events on Fri 26 Feb, Fri 5 Mar, Sun 7 Mar and Thu 1 Apr 2021.

Kicking it off on Fri 26 Feb from 7.15-8.20pm is The Adventures of Prince Achmed . The animated feature is given a new, electronic-infused jazz score by Phillip Johnston and his quartet; Johnson, is an American born saxophonist and composer.

When a mysterious sorcerer attempts to arrange a marriage with a young princess, her brother, Prince Achmed, is quick to intervene. However, the prince is tricked into mounting a flying horse and is soon whisked away to a faraway land. Shadow puppetry and beautifully handcrafted silhouette animation in the world's oldest surviving animated feature - and perhaps the world's first at 94 years young.


Up next is Sherlock Jnr and Cops (2 films) on Fri 5 Mar from 7.15-8.30pm with live score by Blue Grassy Knoll who pair their comic (and musical) timing to the onscreen works of Buster Keaton with two banjo-fuelled live scores. A 19 plus career has cemented Blue Grassy Knoll as one of Australia's most well-loved, accomplished and enduring performance troupes. Merging original musical scores with live foley the troupe have carved out a unique career touring their live scores around Australia and the world.

A cinema projectionist (Buster Keaton) who reads-up on how to be a detective in his spare time finds himself knee-deep in a mystery when he is accused of a crime he didn't commit. Framed and shamed in front of the woman he is besotted by, he retreats to a cinematic dreamworld where he can flex his detective muscle. Buster Keaton's tightly wound mini-feature begins at a patient and measured pace but unwinds to its conclusion at an ever-increasing speed.

Complete with a slew of physical gags and stunts by Keaton himself, Sherlock Jr. feels dangerous, and indeed it was, with Keaton seriously injuring himself in some sequences and coming frighteningly close in others. Upon its release, Sherlock Jr was considered a commercial and critical disappointment. Today it's revered as one of the great silent comedies.

An 18 minute short, Cops is about a man, who after being rebuffed by his sweetheart for not being a savvy businessman, stumbles across a wad of cash that just might be what he needs to prove himself. However, a series of incidents begin to snowball out of his control.


Metropolis on Sun 7 Mar from 7.15-9.40pm is one of the most influential films of the German Expressionist period and Fritz Lang's dazzling science fiction. Set in the distant future (2026!), this incredible visual feast of special effects and unimaginable realities foretells a world where industry and privilege feed off the misery of the working underclass. Into this mix of tension and strife, a story of love and humanity prevails.

This very special screening of the influential sci-fi classic features the acclaimed re-score by The New Pollutants. Musical duo Benjamin Speed and Tyson Hopprich are accompanied by vocalist Astrid Pill and cellist Zoe Barry to present their much-lauded score blending Germanic trip-hop, lo-fi electronica and classical music. Conceived, composed and recorded over twelve months, this landmark re-score has been celebrated by The Advertiser as a "once in a lifetime experience".


Be transported by Rolf de Heer's masterful pastiche of silent cinema in Dr Plonk with a swoon-worthy Live Score by Melbourne's The Stiletto Sisters is the last in this series on Thu 1 Apr from 7.15-8.40pm. The Stiletto Sisters are a dynamic and vibrant trio, featuring the sparkling eyes and ready smiles of Hope Cstoros on violin, Judy Gunson on piano accordion and double bassist, Jo To. Gypsy melodies, seductive tango rhythms and sensuous songs from Europe and Latin America – this will be music to swoon by.

In the year 1907, Dr Plonk, an inventor exuberantly played by street performer Nigel Lunghi (aka Mr Spin), has discovered that the world will end in 101 years. When his peers don't believe him, Dr Plonk, with the assistance of his wife (Magda Szubanski), his assistant Paulus (Paul Blackwell) and his dog, builds a time machine and travels to Australia circa 2008 in search of evidence.

As his protagonist time travels into the future, Rolf de Heer transports us back in time in an uncanny fashion. Using film stock, and shooting on a hand-cranked camera, de Heer's film captures and celebrates the silent film aesthetic. This is also a celebration of the physical comedy prowess of the film's stars, Lunghi and Szubanski. Whip-smart and hurtling along quick-smart, Dr Plonk is a fast-paced comedic whirlwind.

#cbd
#cinema
#free
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#performing_arts
#victoria
#february
#march
!date 26/02/2021 -- 01/04/2021
%wnmelbourne