Press Release

Ireland’s first ever Silent Film Festival will take place in Galway from 24th - 27th September 2025, presenting a vibrant programme of screenings, workshops, live music and events dedicated to the art and legacy of silent cinema.

The festival is the creation of Cinephile Paradiso and The Silent Cinema, uniting to celebrate, preserve and reimagine the silent film tradition. Connecting past and present, the Silent Film Festival invites audiences to rediscover the magic of early cinema while championing local artistic talent.

The festival opens on Wednesday 24th September with the Silent Film Challenge in collaboration with Little Cinema Galway. Participants will be tasked with creating their own silent films, which will then be showcased on the opening night.

Thursday 25th September sees Rebirth of Cinema, a celebratory evening beginning with the Silent Cinema & Film Studio documentary ‘The Birth of Cinema’.

A Silent Cinema Forum will follow, offering attendees the opportunity to present five-minute talks sharing insights, reflections or research on silent cinema.

Later on Thursday, audiences can experience Dreamscapes & Dada: Live with DJ at The Blue Note. This late night event combines music and cinema in a surreal and immersive setting, with a live DJ set to films by Maya Deren, Man Ray, Hans Richter, Fernand Léger, Marcel Duchamp, Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí.

On Friday 26th September the programme continues with LOVE at Massimo’s Soul Garden. Based on Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, this 1927 drama starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert will be accompanied live by pianist Mila Mia. The screening will be preceded by a work-in-progress monologue from Garbo ACTUALLY Talks! written by Holly Buckley and John Dalton.

Later that evening, audiences can experience Robert Wiene’s expressionist masterpiece The Cabinet of Dr Caligari at The Silent Cinema, with live musical accompaniment from Antonis Kalamoutsos, Brendan Pooley and Mia Fitzgerald.

Running throughout the week will be an exhibition of rare photographs from the collection of John Dalton. The display includes original images of Greta Garbo, Rudolph Valentino, George O’Brien and other screen legends of the silent era, hoste at The Silent Cinema.

Saturday 27th September offers an exploration of trailblazing filmmaker Lois Weber in In Her Shoes… Lois Weber: Pioneer of Early Cinema. Silent film historian Dr Veronica Johnson will introduce and discuss Weber’s powerful 1916 melodrama Shoes, accompanied live by Mia Fitzgerald.

That evening, Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop will host Alla Nazimova’s dazzling and queer 1923 adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s Salomé, with live score by Thomas Quill.

The festival concludes with a not-to-be-missed finale screening at St Nicholas’ Church. Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 masterpiece The Passion of Joan of Arc will be presented with live accompaniment by Mila Maia on piano and flute and Michael Chang on violin. Widely regarded as one of the most moving works in cinema history, Dreyer’s film promises an unforgettable and transcendent closing event.

Tickets are available online at www.silentfilmfestival.ie via Eventbrite. A limited number may also be available at venues on the day, subject to availability.

The Silent Film Festival is supported by Galway City Council.

Poster created by Molly Qualter