Classic Cinemas

CINEMA REBORN’S FIRST EVER SILENT CLASSIC

Cinema Reborn’s first silent film presentation, Filibus was rescued and restored by Amsterdam’s Eye Film Archive. Fast-paced, with multiple deceptions, it features a cross-dressing heroine who escapes via a gondola in the sky. “Anticipating the kind of anxieties that were recently raised by Joker, [scriptwriter] Bertinetti argued that seemingly ‘frivolous’ movies were a form of ‘light hypnosis’ useful in stimulating passive spectators to action — and thus raising the possibility that Filibus was intended to inspire a nation of independent women if not cross-dressing burglars.” (J. Hoberman, New York Times).

To read Susan Potter's detailed notes on the film, click here.

Filibus is presented at Cinema Reborn thanks to the generous support of David and Leith Bruce-Steer.

Co-presented with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Sydney.