Catch classic cinema without subtitles at The Silent Film Festival in Thailand. Read our event report on dates for the Thai Film Archive and Nang Loeng Cinema, plus live scoring details.

Attention, cinephiles! Leave your reading glasses at home; you won’t need them to squint at any subtitles when you settle in for these classics – unless your eyesight is so bad that you can’t even read the intertitles without them. The Silent Film Festival in Thailand is back for its 10th edition across two venues: round one runs from 29-30 August at the Thai Film Archive in Nakhon Pathom, just outside Bangkok, followed by round two from 5-6 September at the historic Nang Loeng Cinema (aka Sala Chalerm Thani).

Mind you, silent cinema is never actually soundless. It’s all about the live score, so prepare to be thoroughly swept away by world-class accompanist Stephen Horne at the Thai Film Archive, plus brilliant live performances from Lad Lad and the Fong Naam Band – co-founded by the late, great Bruce Gaston – over at Nang Loeng Cinema. Although some of these films are over a century old, they still manage to grab viewers’ attention no matter their place in history. Not to mention that they’re a great study of cinematic form: how movement can naturally tell a story without dialogue.

For the opening stretch at the Thai Film Archive, you’ll need to bag your tickets online beforehand via their official website. If you’re heading to Nang Loeng Cinema for round two, however, there’s no digital booking: simply arrive 30 minutes before showtime to secure your spot.

Saturday, August 29, Thai Film Archive

• 1pm Our Hospitality (1923, 74 min) + accompaniment by Stephen Horne
• 3pm Stella Dallas (1925, 110 min)
• 5pm Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life (1925, 71 min) + accompaniment by Stephen Horne

Sunday, August 30, Thai Film Archive

• 1pm Baby Peggy Short Film Collection (64 min) + accompaniment by Stephen Horne
  • A Muddy Bride (1921, 23 min)
  • The Kid Reporter (1923, 21 min)
  • Peg O’ the Mounted (1924, 20 min)
• 3pm The Manxman (1929, 109 min)
• 5pm Song (1928, 102 min), live music by Stephen Horne

Saturday, September 5, Nang Loeng Cinema

• 1pm Our Hospitality (1923, 74 min)
• 4pm Baby Peggy Short Film Collection (64 min) + accompaniment by Lad Lad
  • A Muddy Bride (1921, 23 min)
  • The Kid Reporter (1923, 21 min)
  • Peg O’ the Mounted (1924, 20 min)

Sunday, September 6, Nang Loeng Cinema

• 4pm Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927, 69 min) + accompaniment by the Fong Nam Orchestra