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| The festival takes place on April 14th |
"Every year we get so many high quality films that are just a little too racy, weird, or downright horrifying to show in prime time," says Seth Boustead, ACM's Executive Director and the creator and producer of the festival. "This year we get to go all out and it's very exciting."
All of the films will be screened in complete silence with live musical accompaniment provided by ACM musicians led by Music Director Chris Ramaekers. The Davis Theater is a newly restored first-run theater with a restaurant and two full bars.
The Sound of Silent Film Festival serves ACM's mission to bring contemporary classical music to new audiences. To that end the composers we commission are not film composers but concert composers. A few of the featured composers include:
Natalie Diettrich
Natalie is an American composer and vocalist from Harleysville, Pennsylvania. Her music has been performed by wild Up as part of the LA Philharmonic's National Composers Intensive, at the So Percussion Summer Institute (Princeton, New Jersey), the 21st Annual Young Composers Meeting (Apeldoorn, the Netherlands), Spectrum (New York), on Q2 music (WQXR, New York), the highSCORE Festival (Pavia Italy), and most recently as a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Institute.
She writes music that mines patterns and is often tangential to social issues. Her music is inspired by musical and non-musical concepts alike and is visceral in nature.
Nicole Murphy
Australian composer Nicole Murphy’s music has been described as “exquisite, sensitive and delicate”. She has been commissioned by eminent arts organizations including the Australian Ballet, the Royal Academy of Dance (London), Experiments in Opera/Symphony Space (New York), the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Wild Rumpus (San Francisco), and the Definiens Project (Los Angeles).
Her music has been performed by ensembles such as the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, NOWensemble (New York), Ars Nova (Dallas), and Halcyon (Sydney). She has received performances at numerous festivals including the Atlantic Music Festival (Maine), the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (Connecticut), the Dallas Festival of Modern Music, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival (Maine). Her music is published by Wirripang and Nicole holds a PhD from the University of Queensland.
Dominic Johnson
Dominic Johnson is a composer and violist/violinist who toured and recorded for many years with The Rachel’s, a progenitor of what some now call “indie-classical” music. He is currently on the music production team at Comedy Central’s hit show Drunk History.
Career highlights have included co-founding and running the New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago from 2005-15, and performances with Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, DJ Spooky, and Belle and Sebastian.
He has also played in the Vienna Konzerthaus, rocking the Hammerstein Ballroom opening for PJ Harvey, played electric viola for Chicago Symphony events, performed at the Kennedy Center and he looks great in a tux.
Anthony Green
The creative output of AnthonyR.Green (composer, performer, social justice) includes musical and visual creations, interpretations of original works or works in the repertoire, collaborations, educational outreach, and more. Behind all of his artistic endeavors are the ideals of equality and freedom, which manifest themselves in diverse ways in a composition, a performance, a collaboration, or social justice work.
As a composer, his work has been presented in over 20 countries by such notable soloists and ensembles as Gabriela Díaz, Wendy Richman, Dame Evelyn Glennie, ALEA III, Sound Energy, Transient Canvas, The Fidelio Trio, Ossia New Music Ensemble, and Alarm Will Sound, to name a few. His work has been recognized by the Argosy Foundation, Meet the Composer, ASCAP, and others, and has been featured in festivals such as the Grachten Festival (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Gaudeamus Music Week (Utrecht, the Netherlands), and the American Composers Alliance Summer Festival (New York City), among others.
7:00 Featured Program
That Unusual Brick
Comedy
Film by Jesse Burks
Music by Nicole Murphy
In a posh, swanky restaurant, a neurotic man's perfect meal is interrupted by an unexpected little guest.
Two Black Coffees
Film Noir, Thriller, Mystery
Film by Michael Driscoll
Music by Donnie Walker
A desperate woman has one moment of chance to escape from her domineering husband, and into the arms of her secret lover.
Nation Down
Drama, Science Fiction
Film by Liam Hendrix Heath
Music by Dominic Johnson
On a world locked in a dystopian nightmare, a tyrant combats a sudden eruption of riots and pillages.
The Scroll of Morlock
Horror, Comedy
Film by Dash Finley
Music by Lawrence Axelrod
A wraith-like ghoul stalks the corridors of an opulent country estate, threatening an elegant maiden and her brave beau
The Man Who Was Ill
Drama, Comedy
Film by Luke Marsden
Music by Elizabeth Start
Who will Waldo Swobota choose - his fiancé, or her one-eyed sister? How did Lena Prewne's eyes end up inside a glass jar? What does Doctor Schlessighesstfahlen have to do with all this? And will the wise old crone point the sick painter in the direction of true love? A love letter to silent cinema.
atoms of ashes
Drama, Experimental
Film by Maggie Scrantom
Music by Nattalie Dietterich
A young woman weaves through the stages of grief after a miscarriage, confronting the vast universe inside her own body and beyond. Where do we begin and end if we are already made of stardust?
Saturn Return
Animation, Fantasy, Adventure, Science Fiction
Film by Evan Curtis
Music by Anthony Green
If I have seen further, it is from standing on the shoulders of giants.
Margaret and the Moon
Animation, Adventure, Drama
Film by Trevor Morgan
Music by Gary Rubio
Margaret and the Moon is the story of an unpopular little girl who falls in love with her imagination and learns the value of true friendship.
9:30 "Late Night" Program (Viewer Discretion Advised)
Frollein Frappe
Comedy, Drama
Film by Vanessa Aab
Music by Seth Boustead
Franz and Greta are deeply in love with each other, even though they are cousins and social conventions forbid them to act on their desire and feelings for each other. In the tradition of 20′s surrealist cinema the line between dreams and reality blur as the loving couple tries to undermine the moral standards in a romantic and comic way. But when Greta suddenly changes her mind and leaves Franz’s vision, his emotions fall into a bottomless abyss.
When You Call Me That, Smile
Drama, Comedy
Film by Nick Toti
Music by J.S. Bach
A man leaves his quiet life in the country to become a comic entertainer in the Big City. His journey is a Surreal celebration of the descent into a Hell of narcissistic self-destruction. In a string of events ranging from antisocial transgression to racist provocation to fantastic flights of absurdity, our protagonist loses grasp of his humanity and bit by bit slips into complete animal degradation. A comedy.
Tea Party
Drama, Experimental
Film by Brian Zahm
Music by Gunnelpumpers
Called 'grotesque, erotic and surreal,' TEA PARTY explores the inner-world of one lady's daily ritual. This film makes a methodical march from aged stasis toward a frenzied crescendo brimming with archetypal images of youth and fertility.
Manos de la Muerte (Hands of Death)
Horror Spoof
Film by Dave Less
Music by Seth Boustead
An orphaned young woman is sent to live with her aunt who goes to great lengths to find her a suitor, whether she wants one or not.
Leatherface in Love
Comedy
Film by Alexander Bickford
Music by Tony Scott-Green
Leatherface meets his female counterpart in this darkly comedic reintroduction to one of the horror genre's most iconic characters.