San Francisco Silent Film Festival

A fervent following of loyal fans make the San Francisco Silent Film Festival a hot ticket, as the Castro Theater devotes its screen to a full weekend of cinematic gems backed by live musical accompaniment. Some highlights: the Girls Will Be Boys program (inspired by Laura Horak’s book of the same name) features two comedies with cross-dressing protagonists; Mothers of Men, a film that audaciously depicted women serving in high office two years before they were granted voting rights; and a 1919 romp starring a lively Douglas Fairbanks, When the Clouds Roll By.