The Silent Film
Society of Chicago
4050 N. Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 205-SFSC
About The Silent Film Society
of Chicago
Formed in 1998, The Silent Film Society of
Chicago is dedicated to the preservation and proper presentation of
silent films. With 80% of all silent film prints no longer in existence,
the Society's goal is to heighten public awareness to expedite silent
film preservation. It accomplishes this with proper presentation of the
silent film — historically, technically, and artistically.
In addition to offering silent film screenings at the Portage Theatre in Chicago and the Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge, Illinois, the Society offers youth programs for students in grades 5 through 12. Discovering the Silent Cinema provides students with a retrospective of the silent film era and shows the evolution of the cinema from the early 1900s to the advent of sound pictures.
The highlight of the Society's event calendar is our annual summer silent film festival, in which the Society presents a live silent film photoplay at the Portage Theatre on six consecutive Friday evenings in late July and throughout August. These film classics are presented in the same fashion as they were released more than 70 years ago.