Important: By downloading images you are agreeing to the following permissions: Images are provided exclusively to the press, and only for purposes of publicity of The Museum of Modern Art's and MoMA PS1's current and upcoming exhibitions, programs, and news announcements. Permission to use images is granted only to the extent of the Museum's and MoMA PS1's ownership rights relating to those images—the responsibility for any additional permissions remains solely with the party reproducing the images. The images must be accompanied by the credit line and any copyright information as it appears above, and the party reproducing the images must not distort or mutilate the images.
Silent Movie Week 2025
July 30, 2025 – August 05, 2025
The Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art presents the third annual Silent Movie Week, featuring seven recent silent film restorations screened over seven consecutive evenings. The series opens with MoMA’s digital restoration of Walter Ruttmann’s Berlin: Symphony of a City (1927), presented with live musical accompaniment in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden (weather permitting) and co-organized with Neue Galerie New York.
As a commercial medium, silent film lasted for only about 30 years, but those 30 years represented a creative explosion with few parallels in the art world. It’s estimated that only 20 percent of the films made between 1895 and 1930 survive, and yet the work of preserving and restoring the remaining films continues. MoMA is one of several archives around the world with significant silent film holdings, and this annual series invites audiences to enjoy some of the recent restoration work done by MoMA and colleagues across the globe.
This year’s lineup also features recent restorations of Charles Chaplin’s The Gold Rush (1925), Karel Lamač’s Miss Saxophone (Saxophon-Susi) (1928), Karl Grune’s The Street (1923), Herbert Brenon’s Beau Geste (1926), John M. Stahl’s Memory Lane (1926), and Frank Borzage’s Street Angel (1928).
Organized by Dave Kehr, Curator, and Steve Macfarlane, Department Assistant, Department of Film.
Film at MoMA is made possible by CHANEL.
Additional support is provided by the Annual Film Fund. Leadership support for the Annual Film Fund is provided by Debra and Leon D. Black, with major funding from The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder, the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), and The Young Patrons Council of The Museum of Modern Art.
Press Kit
Images
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt). 1927. Directed by Walter Ruttmann. Courtesy of MoMA Film Stills Archive
The Gold Rush. 1925. USA. Directed by Charles Chaplin. Courtesy of Janus Films
Miss Saxophone (Saxophon-Susi). 1928. Germany. Directed by Karel Lamač. Courtesy of La Cinémathèque française
Beau Geste. 1926. Directed by Herbert Brenon. Courtesy of Photofest
The Street (Die Straße). 1923. Directed by Karl Grune. Courtesy of Das Filmmuseum München
Memory Lane. 1926. USA. Directed by John M. Stahl. Courtesy of Library of Congress
Street Angel. 1928. Directed by Frank Borzage. Courtesy of MoMA Film Stills Archive