Danish Film Institute To Restore 400 Silent Movies

From around 1910 through until the 1930s, Denmark led the world in both commercial and artistic cinema. However, when ‘talkies’ became widespread, stocks of silent movies were discarded, and it is estimated that only 20% of Danish silent movies have survived.

Over the next few years, the Danish Film Institute will digitise Denmark’s remaining silent movie heritage, consisting of 415 titles with a total running time of about 350 hours. They will be restored and made available through an online portal along with associated research articles.

Deputy Director of the Danish Film Institute, Jakob Buhl Vestergaard, says: “In the archives there are at least 50 titles that have not been shown since they premiered about 100 years ago.”

“Perhaps we will find among them forgotten masterpieces, that might change our understanding of Danish silent movie history. Either way, we now have a unique opportunity to become more aware of our common past told through living images.”