Stan and Ollie, showing at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival celebrates the glory of world cinema with an impressive slate of newly restored and little seen films July 12 through 16 at the Castro Theatre. Featuring films from around the world accompanied by renowned international performers, the Festival offers a visual and sensual feast for those looking for authentic live cinema experiences.

Taking a deep dive into the glories of world cinema, the SFSFF presents films from Italy, Ukraine, Japan, France, Germany, and Czechoslovakia, as well as several from the United States. Thoughtful programming choices offer a chance to experience an emotional and visceral journey through the senses with every type of genre: slapstick, avant garde, documentary, horror, high drama, and foreign.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival schedule.

Festival passes are $350 for members, $380 for non-members.

The Johnstown Flood, showing at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Several restored films highlight the Festival’s programs. Film Preserve, Ltd. in conjunction with The Maltese Film Works restored the great 1926 disaster epic “The Johnstown Flood” (1926), based on the actual tragic story of the South Fork Dam’s catastrophic failure in 1889 and the destruction of the nearby town, Johnstown. Restored by Lobster Films in 2019 with the support of the CNC from five original sources, French director Jacques Feyder’s “Crainquebille” makes its Festival debut. Ben Model’s Undercrank Productions helped preserve eight mostly forgotten Edward Everett Horton silent shorts in conjunction with the Library of Congress, three of which will screen during the weekend.

The SFSFF itself offers three newly restored films in conjunction with other archives, most not available since their original release: “Flowing Gold” (1924), “Padlocked” (1926), and “The Dragon Painter” (1919), with the National Film Preservation Foundation providing funding for two of the films and Board President Robert Byrne coordinating all restoration. “Padlocked” and “Flowing Gold” were restored in conjunction with the Narodni filmovy archiv, Prague, employing the only known surviving copies of the film from their archive and replacing Czech language titles, intertitles, and graphics employing the original novel, original scripts, contemporary trade press materials, and translation of different foreign sources. “The Dragon Painter” is restored with original tints, new English language titles, and newly discovered footage by employing the only two surviving original copies of the film from the Eye Filmmuseum and the George Eastman Museum, both containing material not present in the other.

Amazing Tales From the Archives, at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

A smorgasbord of top accompanists from around the world provide musical voice to the films. SFSFF veteran accompanists the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Guenter Buchwald, Stephen Horne, Wayne Barker, and the Sascha Jacobsen Quartet perform musical magic as do some making their Festival debut. Pianist Utsav Lal returns, performing Indian ragas as he accompanies films. Ben Model himself accompanies his Undercrank Production restorations of Horton shorts. Dutch composer and pianist Maud Nelissen appears in San Francisco for the first time performing and conducting for films. New York based multi-instrumentalist Masaru Koga, also known as Mas, accompanies “The Dragon Painter” employing his cross-cultural technique playing saxophone, shakuhachi, and shaku-lute.

“Amazing Tales From the Archives” returns Thursday morning with unique stories, looking not just at the restoration of films but also unique aspects of silent film. Kyle Westphal of the Chicago Film Society presents their newly discovered and restored 1927 short documentary “Doll Messengers of Friendship,” which demonstrates a cross cultural exchange between Japan and the United States after World War I. Chicago-based musician Nicholas White performs foley work with antique instruments, demonstrating the wonderful lost art of creating live sound effects. Historian Mindy Johnson provides the in-depth story of her archaelogical discovery of the life and work of animation pioneer Bessie May Kelley and the earliest surviving hand-drawn animation work created and directed by a woman. This free program has become one of the most popular events of the weekend.

This thrilling weekend highlights the wonders of silent film through moving, live performances that emphasize the emotional power of sharing these films together.