The Charles Chaplin Conference
July 21-24 2005
The British Film Institute, in association with the University of
Southampton and the London College of Communication, announces a major
conference on the work and worldwide cultural influence of Charles Chaplin.
This will coincide with the establishment of the bfi's Charles Chaplin
Research Programme, which is designed to foster innovative research in
relation to Chaplin and his contemporaries. The emphasis will be on
dialogue and the bringing together of archivists, researchers and scholars
from a range of disciplines for screenings, the presentation of papers and
symposia to reassess Chaplin's British music hall roots and his impact and
influence on film, the arts and modern culture.
The conference will be held at the London College of Communication, Elephant
& Castle in the heart of Chaplin's London.
Chaplin's image has been an enduring symbol for the twentieth century, it is
an image that simultaneously stands for the celebration and the condemnation
of the modern world. Chaplin's life, art and influence offer a
thought-provoking site of convergence for film history, theatre history,
literary modernism, and the social and cultural history of everyday life in
the twentieth century. Through screenings of newly restored material,
events, talks and discussion the conference will offer a number of
perspectives on Chaplin's work.
Events and Highlights:
Keynote speakers: Tom Gunning, Jennifer Bean, David Trotter, Yuri Tsivian,
Jacky Bratton and David Robinson.
Screening programme of the latest Chaplin Keystone restorations produced by
the bfi National Film and Television Archive, Cineteca di Bologna and
Lobster Films. The archivists will be present to explain the intricacies of
this ambitious restoration project.
Opening night reception will be at Wiltons Music Hall the oldest surviving
music hall in England, built in 1858 in the East End of London. Scenes for
Lord Attenborough's 1986 film, Chaplin were shot here. It was in the finals
of the BBC series Restoration and the trust continues to raise funds for the
preservation of this unique and atmospheric building.
Free Open air screening of Shoulder Arms and Chaplin related rarities in the
grounds of the Imperial War Museum.

For full details and registration form go to:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/chaplin/conference/

Dr. Michael Hammond
English
School of Humanities
University of Southampton
Southampton
SO17 4BF
Tel:+44 (0)2380 596708

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