HippFest is returning from Wednesday 19–Sunday 23 March, and this year it’s casting its net globally with an international programme of silent cinema. Tickets for screenings are on sale now. 

Formerly known as the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival, this 15th edition is kicking off with two works offering very different visions of Scandinavia: folklore, the supernatural and ritual is put under the microscope in Before The Face Of The Sea (1926); while With Reindeer And Sled In Inka Länta’s Winterland (1926) is the earliest feature-length documentation of the Sámi, following Inka Länta and her family of reindeer herders in northern Sweden as they strive to subsist in the harsh winter months. Accompanying the films will be the UK premiere of a new music commission by Sámi-Finnish joiker and electronic musician Hildá Länsman and sound designer Tuomas Norvio, collaborating with the Norwegian-Sámi musician Lávre Johan Eira and Swedish composer, cellist and bass guitarist Svante Henryson.

This globe-trotting edition of the festival will continue with The Cave Of The Spider Woman (1927), an adaptation of Journey To The West, one of China's most beloved novels from the Ming Dynasty, and featuring intricate special effects indicative of silent film at its most visually rich.

Celebrating the contribution of women to the film canon, HippFest will also feature works involving writer and editor Alma Reville, with screenings of The Constant Nymph (1928) and The Pleasure Garden (1926). As the wife of Alfred Hitchcock, Reville’s work has long been overlooked, and so the festival will also host a pre-festival presentation of Alma Reville: In The Shadow Of Hitchcock? and a podcast on Hitchcock’s silent heroines.

Perhaps the most ambitious project undertaken by HippFest is What the Water Remembers - The Dark Mirror (2025), a brand-new moving image and live music commission inspired by the Union Canal and Falkirk Tunnel and made in partnership with Flatpack Festival, Birmingham. Created by artist Moira Salt, the film uses footage and research from five different archives, weaving a mythological tale inspired by the rich recorded history and transnational cultural significance of canals. The film will premiere at HippFest 2025 on Saturday 22 March, accompanied by a newly commissioned live score by Tommy Perman and Andrew Wasylyk.

In silent comedy (always a favourite at HippFest), there’s Buster Keaton’s Our Hospitality (1923), Laurel and Hardy’s We Faw Down (1928) and Big Business (1929), and the domestic hi-jinks of Skinner’s Dress Suit (1926). Closing the festival will be Smouldering Fires (1925), an intelligent and moving love-triangle; and Forgotten Faces (1928), a debonair crime drama with a dramatic touch. 

The line-up of films will be accompanied by a number of guided walks around Bo'ness, workshops, whisky tastings, showcases from young musicians, and a brand new show entitled Neil Brand: Key Notes, in which Brand will reflect on 15 years of the festival and his career as a silent cinema music maestro.

Festival Director Alison Strauss said, ‘The team and I are thrilled to be sharing this superlative line-up of silent films presented with unrivalled live music accompaniment. 

‘And we want everyone to know that the fun doesn’t end with great films. There are many more immersive treats on offer including excursions, quizzes, guided tours, an exhibition, workshops, talks, an online programme and of course a party! 

‘We are proud that HippFest has reached this milestone edition and can take its place alongside the best arts festivals that Scotland has to offer, cultivating an international and ever-growing community of people with an adventurous appetite for extraordinary cinema.’

HippFest, Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Wednesday 19–Sunday 23 March.