As a commercial medium, silent film lasted for only about 30 years, but those 30 years represented a creative explosion with few parallels in the art world. It’s estimated that only 20 percent of the films made between 1895 and 1930 survive, and yet the work of preserving and restoring the remaining films continues. MoMA is one of several archives around the world with significant silent film holdings, and this annual series is an attempt to catch up with some of the recent restoration work done by MoMA and colleagues around the world.
Each year, Silent Movie Week brings seven restorations to MoMA over the course of seven consecutive evenings. This year’s program opens on July 31 with our recent digital restoration of Victor Sjostrom’s The Wind (1928), presented in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden (weather permitting).
Organized by Dave Kehr, Curator, Department of Film. Thanks to George Eastman House, San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Cineteca di Milano, Cineteca di Bologna and Lobster Films.
Film at MoMA is made possible by CHANEL.
Additional support is provided by the Annual Film Fund. Leadership support for the Annual Film Fund is provided by Debra and Leon D. Black, with major contributions from the Triad Foundation, Inc., The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), The Young Patrons Council of The Museum of Modern Art, and by Karen and Gary Winnick.
