Bearing Witness: 10 Films by Kevin Jerome Everson

Down a late-19th-century back alley in Paris’s seedy Pigalle district, a former-chapel- turned-performance space became a theatrical institution forged in naturalism, controversy and grisly spectacle. By the early 1920s, pioneering filmmakers had begun to adapt Grand Guignol vignettes for a slate of intense one-reelers dripping with psychological terror. These were seen as milestones in the evolution of the horror genre before it had a name.

More than six decades since its final performance, the Grand Guignol remains one of the most wildly misunderstood and profoundly influential traditions in entertainment history. From horror films to tabloid journalism, avant-garde theater to the true-crime genre, France’s Theater of Horrors continues to impact popular culture worldwide.

Today’s program highlights the most impactful of these shorts, including several by prolific British filmmaker Fred Paul, whose undiscovered work was recently unveiled at the British Film Institute. This screening features brand-new 4K restorations by Severin Films with all-new music by David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets) with Tony Green and LA-based silent score veteran Michael Mortilla.

Shorts included in the program:

• Cutter of Heads

• The Flat

• Delilah  

• Woman Misunderstood 

• The Doll’s Revenge 

• The Jest 

• Suspense 

• The Antidote  

• The Return 

• Voice from the Dead

This program is screening as part of the Programmers’ Jam, an annual gathering of repertory exhibitors and distributors.

Paul Thomas Anderson won Oscars for Directing, Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture (along with fellow producers Adam Somner and Sara Murphy) for his epic comedy-thriller, loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland, about a retired revolutionary (Best Actor nominee Leonardo DiCaprio) trying to protect his teenage daughter from a fanatical military officer (Supporting Actor winner Sean Penn). Anderson’s longtime casting director Cassandra Kulukundis won the Academy’s inaugural Oscar for Casting, her expertly chosen ensemble including past Oscar winners (including Supporting Actor nominee Benicio Del Toro), veteran character actors, comedy writers, and impressive newcomers such as Chase Infiniti, who plays DiCaprio’s daughter.

In person: Actor Jet Li