Sunset Flicks
Silent movies under the stars, with live music by the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra
August 22, 2025
Outide the Pickford Film Center
Bellingham, WA
The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra and Pickford Film Center teamed up for a free event combining outdoor cinema with live music in downtown Bellingham, WA. The family-friendly event also included a raffle and prizes, as well as food trucks and a beer garden.
The films shown were a selection of silent shorts curated by Spencer Sundell of The Sprocket Society, providing a sampler of the entertaining variety to be found in silent movies: hilarious comedy, thrilling action, amazing special effects and, of course, a cartoon.
The films were accompanied live by small ensembles from the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The film program included:
- Felix the Cat causing trouble (as usual!) in Felix Revolts (1923)
- A Trip to the Moon (1902), the iconic science fiction epic by Georges Méliès presented with its original hand-painted coloring and live narration adapted from Méliès’ own
- Buster Keaton showing how not to build a house in One Week (1920), one of his very best comedies
- Suspense (1913), a groundbreaking thriller by legendary film pioneer Lois Weber
- Helen Holmes doing her own death-defying stunts in Escape on the Fast Freight, a 1915 episode of the movie serial The Hazards of Helen
All movies were shown digitally.
The program was made possible by a Downtown Activation grant from the City of Bellingham.
About the music
All of the movies were accompanied live by musicians from the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra playing solo and in small ensembles.
BSO principal pianist Andrea Rackl improvised accompaniment for Felix Revolts and Suspense.
One Week and Escape on the Fast Freight each featured brand new scores composed by Kevin Woods, Director of Jazz Studies at Western Washington University (WWU). The septet included Dawn Posey (BSO Concertmaster) & Yuko Watanabe, violin; Morgan Schwab, viola; Samantha Sinai, cello; Mark Tomko, bass; Jill Whitman, harp; and Kay Reilly, percussion.
A Trip to the Moon had live narration condensed and adapted from Georges Méliès’ own, performed by Spencer Sundell. It was accompanied by an arrangement for wind quintet by WindSync of Jacques Offenbach’s 1875 opéra féerie, Le voyage dans la lune. Performing for this screening were Debbie Arthur, flute; Gail Ridenour, oboe; David Bissell, clarinet; Phillip Thomas, bassoon; and Brad Bigelow, horn.
All ensemble accompaniments were conducted by Ryan Dudenbostel, Director of Orchestral Studies at WWU.
About the presenting partners
About the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra
The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the historic Mount Baker Theatre. It performs seven concerts per season in addition to a variety of community and youth engagement programs across the calendar year. Details about the BSO and ticketing information for the current season are available at bellinghamsymphony.org.
About Pickford Film Center
Pickford Film Center, a nonprofit organization, provides a forum and resource for independent cinema, strengthening community through education, dialogue and the celebration of film. Since its founding in 1998, it has been the only independent cinema, operating 365 days a year, between Seattle and Vancouver B.C. For more information and what’s playing, go to pickfordfilmcenter.org.
About Downtown Activation with the City of Bellingham
Sunset Flicks is made possible by a grant from the City of Bellingham to activate downtown spaces. Learn more about this program and how the City of Bellingham is working to keep downtown Bellingham beautiful and vibrant and bring joy to our community.
About CASCADIA International Women's Film Festival
CASCADIA International Women’s Film Festival is a Bellingham, Washington-based festival dedicated to discovering, developing and showcasing emergent and expert women filmmakers and promoting the Pacific Northwest as a destination for film production and filmgoing audiences.
Their annual film festival and cultural and educational programs throughout the year champion the arts, community and diverse perspectives. For more information visit cascadiafilmfest.org.
The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra and Pickford Film Center teamed up for a free event combining outdoor cinema with live music in downtown Bellingham, WA. The family-friendly event also included a raffle and prizes, as well as food trucks and a beer garden.
The films shown were a selection of silent shorts curated by Spencer Sundell of The Sprocket Society, providing a sampler of the entertaining variety to be found in silent movies: hilarious comedy, thrilling action, amazing special effects and, of course, a cartoon.
The films were accompanied live by small ensembles from the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra, celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The film program included:
- Felix the Cat causing trouble (as usual!) in Felix Revolts (1923)
- A Trip to the Moon (1902), the iconic science fiction epic by Georges Méliès presented with its original hand-painted coloring and live narration adapted from Méliès’ own
- Buster Keaton showing how not to build a house in One Week (1920), one of his very best comedies
- Suspense (1913), a groundbreaking thriller by legendary film pioneer Lois Weber
- Helen Holmes doing her own death-defying stunts in Escape on the Fast Freight, a 1915 episode of the movie serial The Hazards of Helen
All movies were shown digitally.
The program was made possible by a Downtown Activation grant from the City of Bellingham.
About the music
All of the movies were accompanied live by musicians from the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra playing solo and in small ensembles.
BSO principal pianist Andrea Rackl improvised accompaniment for Felix Revolts and Suspense.
One Week and Escape on the Fast Freight each featured brand new scores composed by Kevin Woods, Director of Jazz Studies at Western Washington University (WWU). The septet included Dawn Posey (BSO Concertmaster) & Yuko Watanabe, violin; Morgan Schwab, viola; Samantha Sinai, cello; Mark Tomko, bass; Jill Whitman, harp; and Kay Reilly, percussion.
A Trip to the Moon had live narration condensed and adapted from Georges Méliès’ own, performed by Spencer Sundell. It was accompanied by an arrangement for wind quintet by WindSync of Jacques Offenbach’s 1875 opéra féerie, Le voyage dans la lune. Performing for this screening were Debbie Arthur, flute; Gail Ridenour, oboe; David Bissell, clarinet; Phillip Thomas, bassoon; and Brad Bigelow, horn.
All ensemble accompaniments were conducted by Ryan Dudenbostel, Director of Orchestral Studies at WWU.
About the presenting partners
About the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra
The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the historic Mount Baker Theatre. It performs seven concerts per season in addition to a variety of community and youth engagement programs across the calendar year. Details about the BSO and ticketing information for the current season are available at bellinghamsymphony.org.
About Pickford Film Center
Pickford Film Center, a nonprofit organization, provides a forum and resource for independent cinema, strengthening community through education, dialogue and the celebration of film. Since its founding in 1998, it has been the only independent cinema, operating 365 days a year, between Seattle and Vancouver B.C. For more information and what’s playing, go to pickfordfilmcenter.org.
About Downtown Activation with the City of Bellingham
Sunset Flicks is made possible by a grant from the City of Bellingham to activate downtown spaces. Learn more about this program and how the City of Bellingham is working to keep downtown Bellingham beautiful and vibrant and bring joy to our community.
About CASCADIA International Women's Film Festival
CASCADIA International Women’s Film Festival is a Bellingham, Washington-based festival dedicated to discovering, developing and showcasing emergent and expert women filmmakers and promoting the Pacific Northwest as a destination for film production and filmgoing audiences.
Their annual film festival and cultural and educational programs throughout the year champion the arts, community and diverse perspectives. For more information visit cascadiafilmfest.org.
