Free but ticketed online discussion

** Details of how to join the online discussion will be emailed to all ticket holders 48 hours before the event starts. The discussion will be hosted on Zoom, and also available on Facebook Live. **

Wednesday 22 Sep 20:00 – 20:45 (BST / UTC+1)

With Bryony Dixon Curator, British Film Institute National Archive and musician Stephen Horne.  Discussion chaired by Alison Strauss (Hippodrome programmer / HippFest Director). 
Live BSL interpretation and captioning provided.  There will be opportunity for audience questions.

Join us for a fascinating discussion of The Epic of Everest (1924),  restored by the BFI National Archive and showing as part of our Taste of Silents season. This epic silent documentary film will be screening on Saturday 25 Sep at 19:30 at the Hippodrome Cinema in Bo’ness with live music accompaniment performed by Stephen Horne.

The third attempt to climb Everest culminated in the deaths of two of the finest climbers of their generation, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, and sparked an ongoing debate over whether or not they did indeed reach the summit. This breathtaking documentary was filmed in brutally harsh conditions with a hand-cranked camera, and Captain John Noel captured beautiful images of considerable historic significance. The film is also among the earliest filmed records of life in Tibet and features sequences at Phari Dzong (Pagri), Shekar Dzong (Xegar) and Rongbuk monastery. But what resonates so deeply is Noel’s ability to frame the vulnerability, isolation and courage of people persevering in one of the world’s harshest landscapes.

The restoration by the BFI National Archive transformed the quality of the surviving elements of the film and reintroduced the original tints and tones. Revealed by the restoration, few images in cinema are as epic – or moving – as the final shots of a blood red sunset over the Himalayas.

The Epic of Everest (1924) at 19:30 Saturday 25 Sep, is being shown as part of a mountaineering double-bill, with Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life (1925) screened same day at 15:30. Enjoy both screenings for just £15, or £12 concession.