With live piano accompaniment by Shauna Pickett-Gordon

Join us for an evening of vintage silent films that explore the history of San Francisco, the future of space travel as seen by the early explorers of cinematic effects, and four short films by the first female cinematographer.

Rails of the Golden City: A segment of a feature film in progress about the history of railroads in San Francisco, which shows the Earthquake of 1906, including the aftermath as The City begins to rebuild. 5 min

“Flash Gordon” episode: The future as seen from the past. In this 1936 episode, an unknown planet is headed to crash into the earth, and Flash Gordon embarks on a journey to change the planet’s course, with naïve views of what space travel would be in the future. 20 min

Four silent films by Alice Guy-Blaché: Fallen Leaves, Heroine, Canned Harmony, Le Piano 40 min

Alice Guy-Blaché (1873 – 1968) was a French pioneer filmmaker. She was one of the first filmmakers to make a narrative fiction film, as well as the first woman to direct a film. From 1896 to 1906, she was probably the only female filmmaker in the world.

The Alice Guy-Blaché films will be presented with an original score composed and performed on the piano by Coastside musician Shauna Pickett-Gordon.