Dismissal from Mass in Ljutomer

Film historians, and survivors from the nearly 30-year struggle to bring sound to motion pictures take the audience from the early failed attempts by scientists and inventors, to the triumph of the talkies.

In 1926, Buster Keaton was at the peak of his glory and wealth. By 1933, he had reached rock bottom. How, in the space of a few years, did this uncontested genius of silent films, go from the status of being a widely-worshipped star to an alcoholic and solitary fallen idol? With a spotlight on the 7 years during which his life changed, using extracts of Keaton’s films as magnifying mirrors, the documentary recounts the dramatic life of this creative genius and the Hollywood studios.

Stunning stories from the unusual life of the Ural owl, a mysterious nocturnal predator that can fearlessly attack even humans. Set over a period of just over a year, 'Fearless Queen of the Night' provides an extraordinary insight into the life of one of the largest European owl species.

The world appears black on black until it separates from itself, looks at itself, includes itself, and sees colour.

A short black-and-white silent documentary film featuring one dog jumping through hoops and another dancing in a costume, which was considered lost until footage from an 1896 Fairground Programme was identified as being from this film.

A jungle travelogue looking for monkeys.

"All sounds travel in waves much the same as ripples in water." Educational film produced by Bray Studios New York, which was the dominant animation studio based in the United States in the years surrounding World War I.

The Antwerp Zoo covers a fair extent of ground, and was already in 1910 generally considered as an important one. A large number of views of birds and animals were taken and hand coloured. In those days, the monkey house was in for much attention. People found that the various comic incidents added a touch of whimsicality.

Staged boxing match between Sergeant-Instructor Barrett and Sergeant Pope, with a round, interval, and knockout.

The first woman to appear in front of an Edison motion picture camera and possibly the first woman to appear in a motion picture within the United States. In the film, Carmencita is recorded going through a routine she had been performing at Koster & Bial's in New York since February 1890.

A film by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, shot in late October 1888, showing pedestrians and carriages crossing Leeds Bridge.

Surfing at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. Most surfers are human, one is a dog. The educational documentary is part of the Bruce Scenic Novelties series.

Rhythmic composition of moving photographs of cyclists in Amsterdam, ‘set’ to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

The Dangers of the Fly is an educational film made by Ernesto Gunche and Eduardo Martínez de la Pera, also responsible for Gaucho Nobility (1915), the biggest blockbuster of Argentinean silent cinema. De la Pera was a talented photographer, always willing to try new gadgets and techniques. This film experiments with microphotography in the style of Jean Comandon's films for Pathé and it is part of a series which included a film about mosquitoes and paludism and another one about cancer, which are considered lost. Flies were a popular subject of silent films and there are more than a dozen titles featuring them in the teens and early twenties.

Topical Budget 545-2. Newsreel of the 1920s aerial stuntwoman and barnstormer, Sara “Babe” Kalishek. We see her on the ground at first, standing in front of a plane before we see her wing walking on a plane in flight, then climbing from one plane onto the wing of another.

View over the castle island of Holmen's Church and the Stock Exchange from the top of Christiansborg, where architect Thorvald Jørgensen is seen at Christiansborg slotting scaffolding, and with builders in the courtyard. The architect is also seen with stonemasons in the yard.

A short, early documentary work showing insects exhibiting extreme strength and agility.

Horse carriages seen at the Copenhagen Town Square.

The remains of the Baltic Violence have been eroded away by the large steam excavator. There is a man standing at the railway cutting as trains pass. He throws something into the railway cutting. This person is seen in several of the recordings from 1913. It may be journalist Anker Kirkeby.

Street Trading in Copenhagen in about 1913. The old butcher stalls by Nicholas Church, called the "stomach" before demolition.