Author: Newsroom
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 22, 2025) —The San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) is pleased to announce a new initiative in collaboration with two acclaimed film restoration companies, Robert A. Harris’ The Film Preserve Ltd. and James Mockoski’s The Maltese Film Works, in bringing essential Hollywood silents back to modern audiences. Rialto Pictures, the award-winning distributor of international classics, will theatrically release films from the collaborative’s slate in theaters across North America beginning with Paramount Pictures’ Beau Geste, the 1926 film starring Ronald Colman and directed by Herbert Brenon. The supporting cast includes Neil Hamilton forty years before he became Commissioner Gordon on TV’s Batman, and William Powell eight years before he portrayed Nick Charles in The Thin Man movie series.
The newly restored version of Beau Geste makes its world premiere as the closing night celebration of the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival with live musical accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra on Sunday, April 27th at 7:30 p.m. at the historic Egyptian Theater in Hollywood.
Said Harris of The Film Preserve Ltd., “The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is among the best at spreading the word about these unique silent productions and illuminating the importance of film preservation and restoration, which aligns with the work James and I do as film restorers and preservationists. We are excited to debut the first film of our partnership, ‘Beau Geste,’ at this year’s TCM Film Festival and for audiences beyond Hollywood through Rialto PIctures.”
Said Mockoski of The Maltese Film Works, “Both Robert and I value the remarkable artistry of the silent film era and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s expertise and dedication to screening these films for modern audiences in the way they were originally experienced, with live musical accompaniment. It’s an honor for me to partner with them, The Film Preserve Ltd., and Rialto Pictures in presenting an exciting slate of new restorations, furthering the legacy of these important films and keeping our cinema history vibrant for new generations.”
Beau Geste marks the first of three confirmed films from Paramount Pictures which the SFSFF, The Film Preserve Ltd., and The Maltese Film Works collaborative are restoring. The next films on their slate are The Affairs of Anatol (1921, d. Cecil B. DeMille, starring Gloria Swanson) and It (1927, d. Clarence Badger, starring Clara Bow), which—along with two other titles to be announced at a later date—will be screened at SFSFF in November 2025 with live musical accompaniment.
Harris adds, “We’ve been authorized by Paramount Pictures to restore several films in their superb silent collection, with unique access to their archives and film elements. Our goal is to restore them as close as possible to how they were originally viewed and make them accessible to new audiences on the big screen.”
SFSFF Executive Director Stacey Wisnia said, “We’re thrilled to join our friends Robert and James, who are renowned throughout the entertainment industry for their restoration work, in this new initiative. We look forward to showing these gorgeous Paramount Pictures films revitalized by these master artisans at our festival this fall.”
Artistic Director Anita Monga adds, “What fun to identify worthy titles from the silent era to restore and share with our audiences! Robert and James, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”