The Cleveland Museum of Art to Host the 2025 Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium

Cleveland (August 21, 2025)—The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is pleased to welcome the Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium, a celebration of the expressive power of early cinema, to Gartner Auditorium for four days of silent film screenings accompanied by live music. From Lon Chaney to Buster Keaton, this year’s festival offers no shortage of the wonders of the silent era. 

“We are thrilled to partner with the Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium,” said Gabe Pollack, director of performing arts. “This is a rare chance to experience the silent cinema as it was meant to be seen and heard—on the big screen, with live music, in a remarkable performing arts setting.” 

This year’s films include The Phantom of the Opera, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Paris Qui Dort, Entr’acte, and Go West. 

Tickets can be reserved on the museum’s website. Guests have the option to purchase tickets to individual screenings or to buy a festival pass, which allows purchasers to attend all screenings at the CMA at a discounted fee. In addition, the festival pass includes admission to the screening of Faust on September 27 at 9:00 p.m. at the Cleveland Cinematheque. Festival pass holders must bring their festival pass to the Cinematheque box office to receive their ticket for the Faust screening. 

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) 

Sunday, September 14, 2025, 3:00–4:30 p.m. 

Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center 

Ticket Required 

On September 14, the Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium marks the centennial of a landmark in cinema history: The Phantom of the Opera (1925). This special screening features the film accompanied by its original score, performed live by American Musical Productions’ 17-piece orchestra under the baton of conductor Joseph Rubin. 

Lon Chaney’s performance as the phantom still captivates a century later, while the music of the original 1925 orchestral score brings the gothic grandeur of Gaston Leroux’s tale to life. 

Wit, Scandal, and Silent-Era Elegance: Lady Windermere’s Fan 

Friday, September 19, 2025, 7:30–9:00 p.m. 

Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center 

Ticket Required 

Step into a world of high society and hidden secrets as the Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium presents Ernst Lubitsch’s Lady Windermere’s Fan (1925), an imaginative silent adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s sharp-tongued comedy of manners. 

This silent-era gem is accompanied by a chamber quintet performing live, bringing the film to life with a rich, evocative original compilation score drawn from authentic historic photoplay music. It’s an evening where elegance, irony, and artistry take center stage. 

A Cinematic Time Machine: Double Bill of René Clair’s Surreal Visions 

Saturday, September 20, 2025, 3:00–4:30 p.m. 

Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center 

Ticket Required 

Presented in conjunction with the CMA’s exhibition Rose Iron Works and Art Deco and in celebration of the centenary of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, the moment that birthed the bold elegance of Art Deco, the Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium presents two avant-garde masterpieces by visionary filmmaker René Clair, brought thrillingly to life with live music performed by Philip Carli and Eric Charnofsky. 

First, drift through a dreamlike Paris suspended in time in Paris Qui Dort (1925), Clair’s poetic sci-fi comedy, accompanied by the vibrant compilation score first heard at the film’s Parisian premiere. Then, lose yourself in the surreal spectacle of Entr’acte (1924), Clair’s riotous Dadaist short, performed with a piano four-hands version of Erik Satie’s playful, groundbreaking score just as it was originally experienced. 

These two landmark films echo the spirit of experimentation and aesthetic innovation that defined the Art Deco movement and continue to inspire a century later. Don’t miss this mesmerizing afternoon that combines cinema, music, and design in a celebration of timeless modernity. 

The event is preceded by a panel discussion—moderated by pianist Eric Charnofsky (Cleveland, OH)—on silent film music by some of the best local and regional practitioners of the art: Philip Carli (Rochester, NY), Rodney Sauer (Louisville, CO), David Blazer (Cleveland, OH), and Donnie Rankin (Ravenna, OH). 

Buster Keaton in Go West (1925) 

Sunday, September 21, 2025, 3:00–4:30 p.m. 

Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center 

Ticket Required 

Closing out the 2025 Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium is Buster Keaton’s classic comedy Go West, which also celebrates its 100th year. The film is being presented with a compilation chamber score by Rodney Sauer, who leads our Cleveland-based ensemble. The score is enhanced with sound effects provided by Radio on the Lake Theatre. 

About the Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium 

The Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium is a celebration of the expressive power of early cinema when accompanied by live music. The festival showcases the best films of the silent era combined with the creative talents of noted specialists in silent film musical accompaniment. The annual festival takes place at various venues in Cleveland, Ohio, a vibrant musical hub and an early center of film music. 

### 

About the Cleveland Museum of Art 

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 66,500 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovation. One of the foremost encyclopedic art museums in the United States, the CMA is recognized for its award-winning open access program—which provides free digital access to images and information about works in the museum’s collection—and is free of charge to all. The museum is located in the University Circle neighborhood with two satellite locations on Cleveland’s west side: the Community Arts Center and Transformer Station. 

The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs, and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org.