HippFest

01/06/2026

We're hiring! 📢 Falkirk Council are looking for an exceptional individual to lead on Marketing as part of the friendly and dedicated team working on HippFest 2027.

Part of a small but dynamic team you will be responsible for the planning, budgeting and delivery of the Festival’s strategic marketing plan, overseeing creation of marketing content and materials, email campaigns, monitoring ticket sales and liaising with Box Office, and more. Further information on the role, person specification, application and selection process are included in the Recruitment Pack which can be downloaded via the link below.

📌 More info: https://www.hippodromecinema.co.uk/get-involved/jobs/hippfest-2027-marketing-officer/
⏰ Deadline for applications: 10AM, Monday 20 July 2026

31/05/2026

Happy Sunday film fans - a new HippCast Episode has landed! 🚨

In this month's episode we speak to silent film polymath Ben Model, discussing his recent publication The Silent Film Universe. Digital Content Manager Christina had just finished reading when she spoke to Ben, and picked out a couple of chapters from which to discuss a few key themes: audience participation in creating the story, text in silent film, and the undercranking phenomena. Enjoy!

📻 Listen to the episode: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/10h8hZGsA3b
💻 Read the accompanying show notes: https://hippfest.wordpress.com/2026/05/31/hippcast-episode-35/

In this month’s episode we speak to silent film polymath Ben Model, discussing his 2025 publication ‘The Silent Film Universe’.

27/05/2026

Calling all silent film curious under-30-year-olds: Le Giornate del Cinema Muto Collegium OPEN CALL is live now! 🎓 Deadline: Friday 3 July

Now in its 28th year, the Collegium’s aims continue to remain unchanged: to attract new, young generations to the riches of silent cinema and to integrate these newcomers into the very special community that has evolved around the Giornate during its four decades.

To apply, send an application letter with a description of your background, some discussion of your passion for silent films, and what you expect to find at the Festival, to: [email protected]. The call is open to applicants who are 30 years old or younger.

📌 For all the info:

Applications are invited for the twelve places in the 27th COLLEGIUM (3th - 10th October 2026)

22/05/2026

In HippCast Ep. 34 we chat to two of our recent HippFest attendees, both Young Scot reward winners, about their take on the films. 16-year-old Izzie Middleton has Scotland's landscape down to a tee. 🫡

CW: "Did it look how you would imagine 1920s Scotland to look like?"
IM: "Pretty much, there were hills. Trees as well. About what you'd expect really."

📻 Listen here: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/wHUEsCoc82b
🖥️ Read the blog/episode transcript: https://hippfest.wordpress.com/2026/04/30/hippcast-episode-34/

20/05/2026

Screening alert! 📽️ An evening of silent film at Burnside Hall, Dollar (7PM, Saturday 23 May).

'The event is organised by East Hillfoots Churches, who said they hope the films will “take people back to their childhood, or provide a glimpse into early moviemaking”. The screenings will be accompanied by atmospheric piano music performed live by musician Forrester Pyke, recreating the magic of early 20th-century cinema.'

📰 Read more in the Alloa Advertiser :

Enjoy a Black & White Silent Movie Night in Dollar with live piano, supporting Malawi’s Bandawe Hospital and The Gate Charity, Alloa.

18/05/2026

This Episode is also likely of interest - San Francisco Film Preserve Executive Director Kathy Rose O’Regan discussing 1910! 🤩

SFFP Executive Director Kathy Rose O’Regan is this week’s guest on the podcast The Five Best Films of Every Year Ever! 🎙️

Tune in as she joins host Tristan Ettleman to make the case for the five best films of 1910 — from early Irish animation to canonical horror to the surprisingly modern spectacle of female boredom on screen. It’s a lively deep dive into a year that helped define what cinema could be.

Listen here:
https://www.the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/1910-e6-kathy-rose-o-regan--70101281
https://open.spotify.com/show/413zOhZvDlIeNyIOJt8XLV

Have your own 1910 favorites? Share them with the The Five Best Films community:
https://www.the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list

18/05/2026

If you're searching for a new silent film listen, we have great news! Festival Director Alison Strauss was recently a guest on 'The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever', which, well - does exactly what it says on the tin.

Ali opted to speak about 1912 (yes, the year Hippodrome Cinema opened its doors) and has shared a great mix of titles with show host Tristan Ettleman. We could share the list here... but wouldn't that just ruin the fun?

📻 Listen to the episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3XpPzej6G62HBXt1JtNFbl?si=JQigbDolQqylmO0QBFSwAQ
🎞️ Submit your 1912 picks: https://www.the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list

The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever · Episode

15/05/2026

Have you tuned in to our most recent podcast episode? 🔊 We hear from two first-time HippFest attendees, both Young Scot reward winners and film fans.

" I think the feeling of going to the cinema, and it's the same if you're at a concert listening to an orchestra and hearing everyone tune up. It's like, there's no feeling like that. And there's no... Something about the fact that the films are old almost makes it more special. You know, seeing how they last, how they're still relevant, like things still making people laugh a hundred years later or making people cry a hundred years later..." Kitty Volino

📻 Listen here: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/wHUEsCoc82b
🖥️ Read the blog/episode transcript: https://hippfest.wordpress.com/2026/04/30/hippcast-episode-34/

13/05/2026

Announcing the winner of the 2026 LHARAs (Letterboxd HippFest Audience Review Awards)... congratulations Carrie Chisholm! 🎉

This year's award was adjudicated by Movies Silently's Fritzi Kramer, who judged all the eligible audience reviews from HippFest 2026 anonymously. Speaking about her choice, Fritzi said: 'This review for Why Be Good? manages to both get in the headspace of the film's original audience while also contextualizing it for the modern viewer, meditating on the end of the silent era and flapper culture while emphasizing the timelessness of Pert's story and the sweet empathy of her mother. A good review deepens your understanding of a movie after you have seen it and this one did just that.'

📑 Read the review on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/capercarrie/film/why-be-good/
✏️ Or via the HippFest blog: https://hippfest.wordpress.com/2026/05/11/the-2026-lhara-results-are-in/
📷 Photography by Kat Gollock, Why Be Good? at HippFest 2026

06/05/2026

If you, like us, are missing your annual Neil Brand fix after sadly he was unable to join us for HippFest 2026... make sure to catch Neil Brand Presents: Laurel & Hardy! 🎩*

The Scottish leg of the centenary tour approaches, with dates at the following venues:

✳️ Tuesday 12 May - Ayr, The Gaiety
✳️ Wednesday 13 May - The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh
✳️ Thursday 14 May - Airdrie, Airdrie Town Hall
✳️Friday 15 May - Inverness, OneTouch Theatre, Eden Court Theatre and Cinema
✳️ Saturday 16 May - Kirkcaldy, Adam Smith Theatre

For more information and to book tickets, head to: https://www.laurelandhardypresentedbyneilbrand.co.uk/

*Please imagine that the hat emoji is a bowler

Join Neil Brand, composer, writer, broadcaster and musician, in his all-new show about the immortal comedy duo.