130 years of silent cinema: step back in time with the film concerts of the 23rd Royal Organ Route Festival in Roya

Silent cinema was born 130 years ago. In Lyon, in 1895, brothers Louis and Auguste Lumière introduced the "moving image" with the cinematograph. It was a truly French revolution! And the advent of the seventh art.

An anniversary that the International Festival of the Royal Route of Organs wanted to celebrate in style for its 23rd edition. Not with candles and a big cake, but with the organ music that originally accompanied the first silent films. Let's rewind.

In the beginning, there was nothing. No sound, no dialogue, no expressed emotions. Just the image, covered by the noise of the projectors. To convey the atmosphere of the images projected on the big screen, sound engineers used objects of their own creation, operators improvised commentaries on the films' themes, and barkers read the dialogue provided with the film. This entire squadron brought life and explanations to the audience. Music, on the other hand, served to express suspense, fear, and love. It accompanied the audience's emotions and could even amplify them.

To replace words and stir emotions, the accompaniment of the images was provided by a piano. The musician's back was to the screen, and a mirror reflected the film's images back to him. In the 1910s, orchestras replaced the pianist. "Cinema organs" also took their place in screening rooms... until the arrival of talking pictures in the late 1920s. A bygone era that the Festival de la Route Royale des Orgues, in collaboration with the Beaulieu cinema, is reviving through special evenings.

Franck Marcon, organist and artistic director of this cultural event, which began on June 27 and ends on November 1, has been bringing "cine-concerts" back into the spotlight for several years. Silent films and the organ thus rediscover their close connection. The events no longer take place in performance halls but where the instruments are located: in religious buildings. Spectators gather there to watch the "silent" films, presented by Olivier Bonat, and listen to the improvisations of the greatest contemporary organists. They play on the Italian-made organs of the Roya Valley and in Sospel.

During this 23rd edition, two film concerts have already been held in Tende and La Brigue. Four more will take place until next November to celebrate the anniversary of silent cinema and travel back in time.

*In Tende, Freddy Eichelberger improvised on the Lumière brothers' first film, The Waterer Watered. In La Brigue, Paul Goussot acted in the film The Dawn.