Music will give silent films a message

A series of silent films, with an electronic music backdrop from a group of international musicians, will be brought to screens in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou from May 12 to 19.

Following its successful 2012 tour, the Institute Of Incoherent Cinematography, an NGO domiciled in Zurich, Switzerland, will again tour China.

Founded in 2011, the IOIC organizes an annual silent film marathon with live music centered on a clearly defined theme.

The tour will feature ten films focusing on the topic of "Femininity in Silent Film" and will be accompanied by renowned sound artists of the international experimental live electronic scene.

"Femininity in silent film is a dazzling and many-facetted topic," said Pablo Assandri, one of the co-founders of the Institute.

"There are the famous figures in front of the cameras – the Femme Fatales, Vamps, Divas – as well as the less well-known but nonetheless very important women behind the cameras, as directors or producers."

The seven musicians taking part in the IOIC silent electronic tour cover a broad range of experimental electronic music from synthesizers and drum-machines to DIY electronics as well as an amplified drum set.

The last season themed on "Low Fidelity Science Fiction" took the IOIC on a tour through China with 18 Swiss and Chinese musicians.

"After all, the purpose of our association is to promote the image of silent film and its representation in the form of a live setting to music," said Assandri.

The fascinating story of French director Jacques Feyder in 1921, L'Atlantide, which initiated a tradition of exotic and romanticising portrayals of the colonial experience, is set to be a huge hit with the audience.

The Chinese audience will also get a chance to see Ruan Lingyu, a famous actresses in the early days of film in China.

"I'm curious to see how the audience will respond to the local selection we are screening as well as how the music is perceived, especially the one of the larger ensemble," said Assandri. He said the Hula Honeys Orchestra, an electronic jam-project with 6 musicians, will improvise together for the first time.

The IOIC was invited by Miro China to organize part of the Art Basel in Hong Kong from May 23- to 26.

The IOIC China tour is sponsored by the Swiss Embassy in China and Pro Helvetia.

Films:

L' Atlantide (France 1921, 163 min), Jacques Feyder

La coquille et le clergyman (France 1927, 41 min),Germaine Dulac

The Goddess (China 1934, 85 min), Wu Yonggang

Meshes of the Afternoon (USA 1943, 14 min),Maya Deren

At Land (USA 1945, 15 min), Maya Deren

Rapsodia satanica (Italy 1915, 45 min), Nino Oxilia

Sappho (Germany 1921, 82 min), Dimitri Buchowetzki

Alice in Wonderland (USA 1915, 52 min), W. W. Young

New Women (China 1935, 106 min),Cai Chusheng

Lot in Sodom (USA 1933, 28 min),James Sibley Watson & Melville Webber

Go West (USA 1929, 68 min), Buster Keaton

More info: www.ioic.ch.