September 11 - September 13, 2026 Los Angeles Silent Film Festival 2026 Festival | THE BAT, “Help Yourself,” THE SLANDERERS, “Love in an Apartment Hotel,” THE QUARTERBACK, “Cinderella Cinders,” THE DEVIL’S CIRCUS, “First National Family of Stars,” FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE, “Gugusse and the Automaton,” “Felix in Love,” “Do Women Pay?,” “Alice Rattled by Rats,” “KoKo’s Earth Control,” “Fifteen Minutes,” “The Sheriff’s Baby,” SO THIS IS PARIS and FAUST Stay tuned for additional screenings to be announced!
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL Following the tremendous response to its inaugural year, the Los Angeles Silent Film Festival returns for an even more ambitious celebration of silent cinema. Presented by the Los Angeles Silent Film Festival (LASFF) in partnership with the American Cinematheque and the Mount Saint Mary’s University Graduate Programs in Film, Television and New Media, this three-day event brings together audiences, historians, archivists, preservationists, filmmakers, musicians and special guests to experience silent films as they were meant to be seen: on the big screen with live accompaniment. More than a century after feature filmmaking emerged, silent cinema remains a living art form. Films once believed lost are rediscovered, forgotten works are painstakingly restored and classic films reveal new dimensions through preservation and archival research. The 2026 festival celebrates that continuing process of discovery through landmark restorations, rare 35mm screenings, newly preserved films and centennial celebrations of some of the silent era’s greatest achievements. These discoveries continue to reshape our understanding of film history. This year’s program marks the centennials of enduring classics including THE DEVIL’S CIRCUS, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE, SO THIS IS PARIS and FAUST. Alongside these beloved landmarks are the world premiere restorations of “Help Yourself” (1927), a long-unreleased comedy reconstructed after more than ninety years, and THE SLANDERERS (1924), once believed lost and now restored from the only known surviving copy. Every festival screening will feature live musical accompaniment by LASFF Musical Director Cliff Retallick, alternating with acclaimed silent film accompanist Dean Mora, re-creating the experience of silent-era moviegoing. Audiences will also enjoy introductions by leading historians, archivists and preservationists, while Beyond Silence: Sound Effects, Animation & 3D in the Silent Era showcases Nicholas White’s live performance on original 1920s sound effects devices, accompanied by Cliff Retallick. This year’s festival will also present its Silent Film Advocacy Award to acclaimed film historian, critic and author Leonard Maltin, honoring his lifelong dedication to introducing new audiences to classic cinema and championing silent film preservation. LASFF Program Director Steven K. Hill has assembled a program that reflects the remarkable breadth and diversity of silent filmmaking, from spectacular adventures and sophisticated comedies to epic dramas, groundbreaking animation, rediscovered films and international masterpieces. Whether discovering these films for the first time or revisiting cherished favorites, audiences are invited to experience silent cinema not as a relic of the past, but as one of the world’s most vibrant, imaginative and enduring art forms.