Kevin Brownlow in the Bay Area!
I bought my tickets last night to see Kevin Brownlow's Introduction to Silents at the PFA. He's coming to the Bay Area for the San Francisco International Film Festival. They're honoring him with the Mel Novikoff Award, and he's presenting films at both the Castro and the PFA. His Castro film is his restoration of Douglas Fairbanks's film The Iron Mask. His PFA talk is about the history of silents with excerpts of films, some of which are not available on VHS or DVD.
I always expect these sort of events to be packed. Sometimes I'm right, and sometimes I'm disappointed. Brownlow is the closest thing to a rock star that the silent film fanatics have, but also the little girl inside of me who slips into talking of Culture (That's right with a capital C!) doesn't see how a true cineaste wouldn't be interested in hearing him speak. He's a true lover of the movies who's been able to translate that energy into their discovery, preservation, and enjoyment.