Short Films of 1907 Return to New York City and Washington D.C.

March 19, 2008, New York, NY – “The Dancing Pig,” “The Haunted Hotel” and “The Teddy Bears” will be among more than a dozen early short films screened at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Monday Nights with Oscar®” presentation of “A Century Ago: The Films of 1907,” on Monday, April 7, at the Academy Theater in New York City. The program will repeat on Thursday, April 10, at 7 p.m. at the National Archives’ William G. McGowan Theater in Washington, D.C.

“A Century Ago: The Films of 1907” will present a partial survey of turn-of-the-20th-century international filmmaking with trick films, actualities, primitive dramas and gag films, all produced during this year of creative expansion.

Highlights include the pixilation sensation “The Haunted Hotel,” by J. Stuart Blackton of Vitagraph; the first film version of “Ben-Hur,” from the Kalem Company, which led to a precedent-setting copyright infringement case; a hand-tinted version of “Les Kiriki, Acrobates Japonais,” from the Pathe Studios in France; and such crowd pleasers as “The Teddy Bears” from Edison and “The Dancing Pig” from Pathe.

Both presentations will feature live musical accompaniment by Michael Mortilla.

Most prints are in 35mm and are drawn from the collections of the Academy Film Archive, the Library of Congress, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Tickets for “A Century Ago: The Films of 1907” in NYC are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be reserved by calling 1-888-778-7575. Depending on availability, tickets may be purchased in person on the night of the screening. Doors open at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The Academy Theater is located at 111 East 59th Street in New York City.

Tickets for the "A Century Ago: The Films of 1907" in D.C. are free. Reservations are not required; seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The National Archives Building is located at 700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; the entrance for special events is on Constitution Ave. (Metro: Archives/Navy memorial [yellow, green lines]). For more information visit archives.gov.

Source: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

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