Coming Soon

Seattle, WA

Extreme close-up of an eye

The Sprocket Society's Fifth Anniversalodeon

Movie Party Double-Bill

Wednesday, June 5, 2013
7:00 PM and 9:00 PM

Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Ave., between Pike & Pine ~ on Capitol Hill
www.nwfilmforum.org

A special double-bill of cinema treasures from the secret vaults of The Sprocket Society, in honor of our fifth anniversary.

Featuring rare 16mm prints of movies spanning the history of film: animation, silent film, comedy, documentary, music, experiments, and more. An indoor version of the backyard movie parties from whence we sprang, a splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Two completely different shows...each with short subjects and a feature. See one or both for the same price!

  • 7:00 PM - The Fun Show: comedy, silliness, and W.C. Fields in a rarely-shown early feature.
  • 9:00 PM - The Arty Show: beauty, strangeness, and worldly things.

Celebrating 5 Years

The Sprocket Society seeks to cultivate the love of the mechanical cinema, its arts and sciences, and to encourage film preservation by bringing film and its history to the public through screenings, educational activities, and our own archival efforts.

Founded in 2007, we have produced film screenings in Seattle since 2008, with programs ranging from silent film to documentaries, experimental cinema to the Secret Matinee series (complete with weekly serial episodes), and more. In 2012, our first branch chapter was formed in Austin, Texas.

To receive announcements of upcoming events subscribe to our email list by inquiring at sprocketsociety [at] gmail [dot] com. We also have an official Facebook page.

Friends of The Sprocket Society Include:

Illustration showing how film passes through a movie projector.

Past Programs by The Sprocket Society Have Included:

  • Georges Méliès: Impossible Voyager - Special Effects Epics, 1902-1912 — Seven films by the first screen magician, including unconventional musical selections, live narration and Victrola accompaniments by Climax Golden Twins.
  • Visions: Animation and Abstraction, Masterpieces 1908-1976 — 19 films by 15 directors in 90 minutes. With films by Emile Cohl, Harry Smith, Len Lye, Mary Ellen Bute, Oskar Fischinger, Larry Jordan, Hans Richter, Robert Breer, Stan Brakhage, Piotr Kamler, and more.
  • First Light: The Birth of Cinema 1895-1901 — Pioneering films by the Lumière brothers, the Edison Company, Georges Méliès and James Williamson. Plus short documentaries about magic lanterns and the Library of Congress paper print collection.
  • Breakaway: Films by Bruce Conner, 1958-2004 — Brilliant and influential experimental works made primarily with found footage.
  • The Heart of Life — Robert Enrico's stunning trilogy of award-winning films based on Ambrose Bierce short stories.
  • First Words: The Birth of Sound Cinema, 1895-1929 — Rare short films tracing the evolution of sound cinema, plus live re-enactments of Lyman Howe's pioneering Victrola accompaniments.
  • Halloween Spook Show I & II — Spooky short films and live-action insanity, with complimentary death insurance.
  • D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916) — The epic "film fugue" interweaving parallel tales in four historical epochs.
  • Focal Points: Short Documentaries from 1969 — Co-presented as part of the year-long 1969 series, NWFF, 2009.
  • Sixties Synaesthetics — Experimental films by Robert Breer, Storm De Hirsch, Cecil Stokes, Jud Yalkut, Scott Bartlett and Tom DeWitt, Barry Spinello, and Tony Conrad. (Co-presented as part of the Visual Music series, NWFF, 2010.)
  • Funny Stuff: Silent Comedies and Cartoons — Classic two-reeler comedies, plus rare silent-era cartoons
  • Secret Matinees — Recreating the weekend matinees of yore, with weekly serial episodes and secret classic features.
  • and others...