00:11We've already reached Wednesday at the 45th edition of Le Giornati della Cinnamurtro,
00:16the Porto Nonnè silent film festival and today is Market Day as you can see around me Wednesdays
00:22and Saturdays is always Market Day here where you can get your cheeses your vegetables and fruits
00:26Quell hold of clothing as well, lovely dogs
00:28And I'm here to talk about one of the films that's in the Weimar Uncensored
00:34Taboos and Transgressions in German Cinema 1919-1920 section
00:39This is a part of a two-year section that we're doing
00:42Curated by Tony Case and Michael Cowan
00:44Which deals with this very fecund period in German history
00:49When there was no censorship
00:51We've already had one chapter of this on Saturday
00:54When we screened Der Teufelskirche
00:56And I spoke a little bit more about this extraordinary moment of chaos
01:00In Germany when there was a rush of films about prostitution, lust, drug addiction, abortion
01:07There's even a gay film
01:09But Blonde's Gift is a very good example of this moment when
01:15It wasn't just one major studio in Germany
01:18There were a number of smaller studios
01:19Things were coming out of the destruction of the First World War
01:24So much is suddenly open for young directors and producers, actors and actresses
01:29The film Blonde's Gift that we're showing today, 1919, directed by Hubert Most
01:34Most is a largely forgotten director now
01:37Whose wife, Hedda Vernon, starred in 14 of his films
01:41What makes this film extraordinary, among other things
01:44Is that its main character, played again by the actress Hedda Vernon
01:49Is a woman whose lust is unbridled
01:52In fact, later on when the film finally was censored
01:55When censorship was brought in at the end of 1920
01:58The censors complained that she was a very bad example of female nature
02:05What's remarkable here is that she doesn't get punished
02:08Notwithstanding all of the destruction that she does
02:13There's something for us now very empowering about seeing this woman
02:16Who uses her sexuality in a way that's very negative for everybody else
02:23But for her it's rather positive
02:24I also want to point out, I've seen several films by Hubert Most at this point
02:29He clearly has a hair fetish
02:31We think of Alfred Hitchcock as being the director
02:33Who most embodies this concept of a director
02:37With a thing for blonde women and their hair
02:41Most absolutely, it's there
02:43He also makes the film Lady Godiva
02:45You can imagine what better film for a hair than Lady Godiva
02:49It is written about in Tony Case's note on Blonde's Gift
02:53Which you really must read, please do read the catalogue
02:56There's a wealth of information there and beautifully written as well
03:00I want to add here as well
03:01This is one of the rare films where we know the costume designer
03:04Rare German films from this period I should add
03:06Where we know the costume designer
03:08It's the great Viennese couturier Christoph Dreckel
03:13So that's also an exciting bit of information
03:15Because it's so rare to be able to find that credited
03:19Especially in German films from this period
03:24We're very grateful to the Bundesarchiv
03:26For making this film available to us
03:27Not just during the festival but also on streaming
03:31Before the film we're screening a tram ride through Sheffield
03:35This is part of the tram rides program
03:36That's been curated by Lawrence Knapper
03:38This is looking at that early moment in cinema
03:41When the sense of movement was itself such an attraction
03:44So cameras that are placed on a moving tram
03:47Going through towns, through cities
03:49And not a train but a tram
03:51We want to emphasize that
03:52This is more urban, also suburban
03:55In fact trams made suburbs possible
03:58Because it was possible for people to then commute much more easily
04:02From home into city work
04:04It's a lovely way of opening up the world really
04:08As a spectator looking at the world from this period
04:11It's a perfect accompaniment to any feature that we screen
04:15So I hope you enjoy the combination here
04:18We're delighted as always to have Mauro Columbus
04:21Who's going to be doing the accompaniment today
04:23Enjoy the screening
04:25Feel free to send us your comments
04:27And I hope to see you tomorrow
04:29We'll see you tomorrow
