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Looking Back, Looking Forward: Charlie Chaplin in the 21st Century (XI) |
Interviewing BFI’s Silent Film Curator Bryony Dixon
If you’ve ever visited the British Film
Institute’s Chaplin site,
you know the work of Bryony Dixon. I met
Bryony for the first time at the Charlie
Chaplin Conference in London in 2005, where
she was one of the organizers. Given the
overwhelming nature of that whole event,
of course, a person has to be immediately
awed at what Bryony and her colleagues were
able to do and are able to do. That was
a great event and I’m still in touch with
most, if not all, of the contacts I made
there and have gained much from all of them.
Thank you, Bryony! Perhaps the best venue
for getting to know Bryony, though, is not
at something as lofty as the Charlie Chaplin
conference, but at dinner. But isn’t this
always the case? I find her to be an authentic,
no-nonsense sort of person, which I appreciate
very much. So, if you ever get to meet up
with her—at one or more film festivals in
Europe—Nottingham, Bologna, Pordenone, etc.,
introduce yourself and consider yourself
lucky. I know I do!
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Bio:
Bryony Dixon has worked
at the BFI National Archive for 15 years
and has developed a particular interest
in early film. She has written on British
silent comedy, the relationship of early
film and the music hall and programmes
archival material of all kinds for the
BFI's own cinemas as well as internationally.
She founded and co-programmes the British
Silent Film Festival with Laraine Porter
of the Nottingham Broadway Cinema. This
festival, now in its 11th year has transformed
the way we think about British film
history. In the last few years she ran
the BFI’s Chaplin project, organised
the first international conference on
Chaplin and designed the BFI’s dedicated
Chaplin microsite (chaplin.bfi.org.uk). She is now a curator
with a special responsibility for the
BFI’s collection of silent film.
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