Rare Early Silent Film Reels in Courthouse Mural Room December 9

Three rare silent film reels from the earliest period of filmmaking in Santa Barbara will be presented by the Santa Barbara County Park Foundation at a special event on Thursday, December 9. The event, which begins with a 6:00 p.m. reception, will be held in the recently restored Mural Room on the Second Floor of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

Along with the film screening, which will be accompanied by a pianist playing period music, the event will feature a lecture by Dr. Dana Driskel, Studio Professor of Film and Media Studies at UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Driskel is a noted authority on silent-era filmmaking, and was director of the 2003 documentary An American Film Company, about Santa Barbara’s Flying A Studio, and of over forty film and video projects.

The three film reels – Incident at Bar Z Ranch, Method In His Madness, and The Ranch Girl’s Legacy – date from 1912 and were filmed on location in and around Santa Barbara. The December 9 event is one of several events in 2010 to mark the centennial of filmmaking in Santa Barbara County.

Admission to the event is $125 per person. Proceeds from the December 9 event will help fund programs sponsored by the County Park Foundation, especially the popular outdoor summer movies series at the Courthouse Sunken Garden and elsewhere in the county.

The evening’s program will include:

– 6:00 p.m.: Reception

– 7:00 p.m.: Lecture by Dr. Driskel

– 7:30 p.m.: Screening of Films

Seating in the Mural Room is limited. Reservations can be made by calling 805-568-2461.