Chang

Cooper, M., and Schoedsack E.B., Silent, (1927) 69 mins

Screening Saturday 13th 6pm €15

The documentary Grass (1925) was one of the first films to sell out at last year's festival and certainly one of the highlights. This year we have Chang by the same adventurous film-making team of Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, who would later go on to make the original King Kong. This film was to all extensive purposes lost for the best part of fourty five years and was only rediscovered relatively recently. Shot on location in Siam, it traces the treacherous everyday life of a small family living on the outskirts of a wild jungle. The film is an early documentary classic with all the thrills of a blockbuster as the family battle daily with wild animals and hazardous conditions, all caught on film. Watch out in particular for the breathtaking climactic elephant stampede! The film was nominated for an Academy Award for 'Unique and Artistic Production' at the first Academy Awards in 1929, the only year an award of that nature was ever presented.

Presented by Kevin Brownlow

Venue Cinema 1 with live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne