Conference "Women and the Silent Screen XII : Form and Feeling in Silent Cinema"

This iteration, titled "Form and Feeling in Silent Cinema", revisits processes of female viewership and pleasure against the backdrop of evolving theoretical, ethical, and political frameworks. Emphasis will be placed on underexplored aspects of how feeling and mood are articulated and mediated through the formal, material, institutional, and cultural dimensions of silent film across all formats. These subjects will be examined through panels, presentations, workshops, and a roundtable discussion.

Over the course of four days, the conference will present a wide array of new research and restorations. 
The program goes beyond the Western canon, through panels such as "Form and Affect in Early Chinese Cinema", accompanied by screenings like New Women/ Xin nü xing (Cai Chusheng, 1934). Other panels look at different ways of expression like "If You Can Feel It, Dance It: Dancing Women in Silent Film" and "Modernist Gesture: Performing the Belle Epoque". Another highlight is the panel "Encountering the Archive," which will discuss (re)discovery of the role of women in silent film through archives.

Program Highlights

Opening Screening : Focus on Asta Nielsen

• Der fremde Vogel (1911) – World premiere of the new restoration by the Deutsche Kinemathek
• Laster der Menschheit (1927) – Restored by CINEMATEK

Closing Screening

• Fires of Youth (1917) – New restoration by CINEMATEK

After the conference, the Women in Silent Film program will continue at CINEMATEK, featuring many films restored by CINEMATEK, such as Vanina (Arthur von Gerlach, 1922), The Red Lantern (Albert Capellani, 1919), Pollyanna (Paul Powell, 1920), and Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (Marshall Neilan, 1924), among others.

More information

• Detailed Program (Download)
• Practical information (daypass, registration form ...)

Organizers: Dominique Nasta (Université libre de Bruxelles), Anke Brouwers (KASK/School of Arts), Tom Paulus (University of Antwerp), Drake Stutesman (NYU), Kristine Harris (State University of New York, New Paltz), Tami Williams ((University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee), and Kate Saccone (Universiteit van Amsterdam).

In collaboration with