The Yorkshire silent film nights where the band makes up the music on the spot
Northern Silents brings silent films back to Yorkshire venues with musicians improvising live scores as each film plays. The project aims to recreate an important part of early cinema and introduce audiences to films that are rarely screened today.
Musician Jonny Best began organising shows in Holmfirth about 15 years ago; the programme now runs year-round across Northern England, including venues in York, Bradford, Sheffield and Farsley. Best says the group has presented around 200 different films, drawing on nearly four decades of cinema, from Georges Méliès’s early works to 1920s epics. Upcoming screenings include films starring Marlene Dietrich and Fritz Lang’s *Metropolis*, whose centenary will be marked next year.
- Northern Silents pairs silent films with live, improvised music.
- The programme has presented around 200 films.
- Screenings run year-round across Northern England.
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Silent films from cinema's early decades were originally accompanied by live music from pianists or orchestras, but this practice ended when sound recording became standard in film production. Northern Silents brings these films to audiences with live musical accompaniment, recreating how people experienced cinema in its earliest decades.
Jonny Best started organising Northern Silents screenings in Holmfirth, Yorkshire around 15 years ago, and the project has since expanded across Northern England to venues including York, Bradford, Sheffield and Farsley. The accompanying musicians improvise their scores as each film plays, without prior rehearsal or recorded accompaniment, responding to the action on screen in real time.
The programme has presented around 200 different films, ranging from Georges Méliès's pioneering works through to grand productions of the 1920s. Upcoming screenings include films starring Marlene Dietrich and Fritz Lang's *Metropolis*.
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