site.btaGoethe Institute to Present Silent Cinema with Live Music

Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau's 1926 black-and-white silent film Faust: A German Folktale will be screened on Sunday, December 17. The immersive experience will take place at the Sofia Cinema House of Cinema and will combine black and white silent cinema with contemporary, live musical improvisation by Soundscapers, the organizers from the Goethe-Institut said. Entrance will be free.

The film follows an argument between archangel Gabriel and  Mephisto, who claims that he can turn anyone from the path of God. To seduce the old scholar Faust, Mephisto causes a devastating plague. Dying people ask the scientist for help, and he turns to God, who does not respond, so he seeks advice from the devil. To win him over, Mephisto promises Faust eternal youth and all the treasures of this world, the film summary reads.

Musicians Ivaylo Stefanov (piano and synthesizers), Mihail Yosifov (guitar), Alexander Daniel (drums) and Alexander Evtimov (multi-instruments, effects) will perform specially selected sound effects, creating polysynchronous film music.

The duration of the film is 106 minutes, it will be in German, with subtitles in Bulgarian. Not recommended for children under 12 years of age.

This is Murnau's second black-and-white silent film that the Goethe-Institut presents, after showing Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror last year. The occasion was the 100th anniversary of the creation of the first German horror classic.