Slapstick 2022
Please note : this season finished in Jan 2022
Celebrating its 18th year and now back in Bristol’s best venues, the annual Slapstick Festival offers a chance to see some essential comedies from cinema’s silent era, specially selected from archives across the world and paired with live musical accompaniment.
Kicking off in January 2022, the festival features a packed programme which, amongst other treats, includes a celebration of pioneering women in comedy with guest hosts such as actors Sally Phillips and Ronni Ancona, stand up comedian Lucy Porter and writer Sian Norris.
Slapstick 2022 takes place across three venues; Watershed, St George’s Bristol and Bristol Cathedral. You can view the programme at slapstick.org.uk.
Previous screenings & events in this season
Animation Fanatics with Peter Lord
Slapstick 2022
Peter Lord (co-founder of Aardman Animations) celebrates early animation and the unique blend of surrealism and visual comedy that animation does best.
The Goodies Forever
Slapstick 2022
A celebration of The Goodies featuring recorded contributions from Tim Vine, Rob Brydon, Harry Hill and others.
Richard Herring's Desert Island Comedy Flicks
Slapstick 2022
Pioneer of comedy Podcasting, legendary stand up and writer Richard Herring joins Infinite Monkey Cage co-host Robin Ince at Slapstick’s inaugural Desert Island Comedy Flicks event.
The Real Charlie Chaplin
Slapstick 2022
A look at the life and work of the one and only Charlie Chaplin in his own words, featuring an in-depth interview he gave to Life Magazine in 1966.
Slapstick Conversations: Buster Keaton
Slapstick 2022
James Curtis, a biographer whose latest work is Buster Keaton: A Filmmakers' Life, joins us live from California on Zoom for an in conversation event with Andrew Kelly, director of Bristol Ideas.
The Patsy
Slapstick 2022
Following the gala screening of Show People at The Cathedral, the iconic Marion Davies shines in one of the best of her many collaborations with director King Vidor.
WC Fields Sally of the Sawdust
Slapstick 2022
The irascible and immensely talented W.C Fields stars alongside silent film darling Carol Dempster as they form a sort of father/daughter relationship in Sally of the Sawdust.
Silent Comedy Classic Lloyd: The Kid Brother
Slapstick 2022
Slapstick legend Harold Lloyd stars in one of the greatest ever silent comedies.
First Women in Comedy
Slapstick 2022
Lucy Porter and Sian Norris present a series of short films celebrating pioneering women in film comedy.
An Old Gangster’s Molls
Slapstick 2022
This Czechoslovakian silent comedy stars Anny Ondra, who later became one of Hitchcock's leads in his classic silent thriller Blackmail.
Silent Comedy Classic Chaplin: The Circus
Slapstick 2022
Charlie Chaplin once again dons his iconic ‘Tramp’ character in his 1928 film The Circus.
My Grandmother
Slapstick 2022
An avant-garde gem of early Soviet Union filmmaking, banned for almost 50 years for some not so subtle political criticism.
Max Linder : Be My Wife
Slapstick 2022
Max Linder writes, directs and stars in the second of his three American films.
Silent Ozu: Days of Youth
Slapstick 2022
The oldest known surviving film by legendary Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu.
Edward Everett Horton – Silent Comedian?
Slapstick 2022
Ben Model and Steve Massa join us live from New York as they live-stream their latest discoveries in silent comedy from their homes into Watershed in this Pre-Festival special event.