The Shamrock Handicap / Live: Port Almond will open Silent Film Days!

Silent Film Days will take place at Verdensteatret in Tromsø 19.-22. April 2023! The festival offers a rich program with screenings of classic silent films with live music from contemporary artists.

It is the silent film THE SHAMROCK HANDICAP, with live music from Port Almond, which will open the festival on Wednesday 19. April, at 19:00.

Magnificent from Ireland

THE SHAMROCK HANDICAP takes place in the idyllic Ireland of John Ford’s imagination (which culminated in The Quiet Man), and tells the story about a down-on-his-luck breeder (Lewis Payne) forced to sell most of his horses to an American millionaire. In one of her first films for Fox, Janet Gaynor plays the breeder’s daughter, a sprightly woman in love with the jockey (Leslie Fenton) who is sent to the states along with the horses.

One of the countless films based on the work of popular magazine writer Peter B. Kyne (Three Godfathers), the film, not surprisingly, ends with a race that settles all issues in high style.

The film is a loan from The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, and a new 4K restoration funded by Twentieth Century Fox.

Port Almond

The film is accompanied with live music by Port Almond, a project by Rune Simonsen (Washington) that has specialised in analogue vinyl recordings alongside Lowswing Records Berlin. The music is a delicious mix of low-fi, singer-songwriter and experimental jazz. 

- I was very taken by The Shamrock Handicap because it has a very nice and simple story, in addition to a lot of charm. I thought immediately that it would have been easier to make music for a much darker type of film, but I got the feeling that it could be interesting to give it a go with a semi-comedy, which is much lighter in its style. The film demands that you are using the whole range of moods, Simonsen says. 

For the film concert the band will also feature Stephan Salewski from Dresden on drums and percussion and Johannes Feige from Berlin on guitars. Both are considered high-class musicians connected to Lowswing Records and the Berlin music scene. The band will also feature Andreas Høyer (Iran Mayen, Washington) and Johan Grønvik (Thee Mono Sapiens, Iran Mayen) on electronics and synths.

- In the process of working with this film we have worked on the overall mood and theme, but at the same time we have been reasonably focused on the fact that many parts need very different approaches. We cross between the use of classic analogue instruments and electronic elements like synths and samples. The music is composed exclusively for the film concert and we are looking forward to sharing it with the audience, Simonsen concludes. 

Festival passes for sale now

The entire program for Silent Film Days will be announced in March, but you can already buy a festival pass and tickets for THE SHAMROCK HANDICAP / LIVE: PORT ALMOND.

Keep up to date on the website of Silent Film Days or Verdensteatret.

Print courtesy The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York.