Slapsticon- Virginia (July 17-20)

SLAPSTICON is a four-day, international film festival dedicated to classic motion picture comedy! This year, the sixth annual festival will be held from Thursday July 17, through Sunday July 20, at Arlington county's spacious Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre in Arlington, Virginia.

The 6th Annual SLAPSTICON will start off with a triple slap when "The 3 Stooges Rarities Show", begins on Thursday July 17 at 7:00pm. This never-before-seen compendium of home movies, TV clips and other Stooge ephemera (with a few classics thrown in) is not to be missed.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
W.C. Fields' first starring feature, Sally of the Sawdust (1925), directed by D.W. Griffith from Fields' Broadway hit, Poppy (Thursday, July 17 at 9:00 p.m.)

Buster Keaton's rarely screened The Silent Partner made for TV in 1955 and The Scribe (1966), a Canadian industrial film in which 70-year-old Buster walks on construction girders on a windy autumn day just months before his death. (Saturday July 19 at 2:00 p.m.).

Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath (1928) shows how silents could sizzle even before the talkies. Forgotten comedienne Dorothy Mackaill is ripe for a modern-day rediscovery, with Laurel & Hardy foil James ("Doh!") Finlayson in support. (Saturday July 19 at 8:00 p.m.).

The venue, Rosslyn Spectrum was originally built as a movie house in the early 1960's. The newly-renovated theater now has 387 cushioned theater seats - each with folding tables for note-taking critics, or for refreshments (which are allowed inside the theatre)!!

All silent films shown at SLAPSTICON feature LIVE MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT by accomplished musicians, Dr. Philip Carli, Ben Model and Andrew Simpson. Each utilize different styles and both have many years of experience in the art of silent film accompaniment.


SLAPSTICON Screenings will occur:
Thursday, July 17, 1:00 p.m. - 12:00 mid.
Friday, July 18 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 mid.
Sat., July 19, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 mid.
Sunday, July 20, 10:00am - 5:00pm.

COST: $99 for the full four-day festival; $30 per day; $16 half-day.

For more information about Slapstickon 2008 (including a registration form), visit www.slapsticon.org. You may also e-mail info@slapsticon.org or call 703-228-1841.