Fundraiser for the first Los Angeles Silent Film Festival

Our introductory Fundraiser for the first Los Angeles Silent Film Festival will take place July 20 beginning at 7:30 p.m., at the historic Bilderrain House in the northeast Los Angeles neighborhood of Lincoln Heights. The evening will include a brief but informative presentation about our plans for the coming Los Angeles Silent Film Festival. You will enjoy your choice of delicious boxed Thai dinners (not too spicy) from Chef Grup Zee, with chicken, vegetarian and vegan options available. (We will email you regarding your dietary needs after you book your ticket.) In addition, we will watch a specially curated program of overlooked silent film comic gems, featuring Felix the Cat, the great Monte Banks, Laurel and Hardy and more, with live, original accompaniment by Maestro Extraordinaire Cliff Retallick. Tickets are severely limited in number, so we recommend reserving yours now.

Our Special VIP package includes an autographed copy of the brand new, gorgeous book by Marc Wanamaker and Steven Bingen,

The Bilderrain House

Built in 1912, the Arturo and Mabel Bilderrain House is being painstakingly restored by California historian and neon sign maker Paul Greenstein. The house’s Mission Revival architecture recognizes Arturo’s Californio family heritage, while the interior was made with all the modern comforts of Craftsman style, and includes a large kitchen for Mabel’s famous cooking. In the home, Californio lifeways and legendary hospitality were carried forward for the 20th century: the home was built for entertaining, with large public rooms, and, like the traditional California adobes, all the rooms are built around a central courtyard, one rendered in this home as a covered atrium.

The Bilderrain family came to California in the Spanish Colonial period, and remained through the Mexican Colonial period and into the American era. In 1871, a time when Los Angeles had a distinctly rough side, Arturo’s father, police officer Jesus Bilderrain, was shot and wounded in an event that triggered the notorious Chinese massacre. On Arturo’s maternal side was the Lopez family, whose adobe still stands in San Fernando, and who are known for the first gold discovery in California (at Oak of the Golden Dream in Santa Clarita).

Unlike the wealthy rancheros most often focused on in historical accounts of the Spanish and Mexican colonial periods, the Bilderrains remained a working-class family. Like his father before him, Arturo became a public servant, serving in the Los Angeles Fire Department, including, for a time at Station 1, across the street from where his father had once been wounded.

The house is being painstakingly restored by historian and silent-film enthusiast Paul Greenstein, who joins us in welcoming you to this unique architectural-and-historical gem for a night of silent film and good company.

What: A fundraiser for the first Los Angeles Silent Film Festival.

Who: Retroformat Silent Films, Mount Saint Mary University Film, Television and Photography Graduate Program (Doheny Campus)

Where: The Arturo and Mabel Bilderrain House, Lincoln Heights, East Los Angeles

When: Saturday, July 20, 2024, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Host or Publisher Retroformat Silent Films