Slapstick Saturday has been a fixture of the Netherlands Silent Film Festival since its very first edition. After all, no weekend of silent cinema is complete without the energy, timing and ingenuity of the great slapstick comedies.
This year’s main feature is Buster Keaton’s The General from 1926. Keaton combines his brilliant sense of humour with an equally impressive command of action and drama. No expense was spared: he performs stunts on a moving steam locomotive, stages a full-scale battle and sends an entire bridge and train crashing down before the camera.
Keaton plays engine driver Johnnie Gray, who hopes to win the respect of his beloved Annabelle by enlisting as a soldier. He is rejected without explanation because his work as an engineer is considered more valuable. When both Annabelle and his locomotive, The General, are abducted by enemy soldiers, Johnnie finally gets the chance to prove himself a hero.
The General will be preceded by other highlights from the slapstick genre. These short films will be announced at a later date. The complete programme will receive a new live score performed by the NSFF ensemble under the direction of Daan van den Hurk.
About the Netherlands Silent Film Festival
The Netherlands Silent Film Festival (NSFF) in Eindhoven is the largest festival dedicated to silent film in the Netherlands. In this original form of cinema, stories are told through images, expression and music. Without spoken dialogue, the inventiveness of the filmmakers takes centre stage.
At the festival and through programmes presented throughout the year, NSFF makes the cinematic heritage of the silent era accessible to a wide audience. It does so through film screenings, educational projects, workshops and lectures. The creativity and innovation of early cinema deserve to be seen and heard again.
For its programme, the NSFF team follows current developments in the international world of silent film, from recent rediscoveries and restorations to new research. Audience favourites share the bill with hidden gems, all presented with live musical accompaniment by international film musicians.
