Welcome to Silents, Please! STL — My name is Kate Bellows Stewart and I am glad you’ve found your way here. My love for the art of silent filmmaking from the early 20th Century is something that I am passionate about sharing with others. I am a lifelong cinephile with a BFA in Photography/Art History, an MA in Historical Studies, an MA in Counseling/Psychology, and post graduate studies in psychoanalytic theory and practice. I find that silent film is a perfect intersection of my studies, passions and interests — and my mission with Silents, Please! is to create opportunities for others to experience all of the joy and wonder that this dynamic and beautiful art form has to offer.

Silent film provides a unique experience that invites us to reconsider how we experience film and art. We have grown up and live in a world where movies have voices and verbalized narratives. Silents ask us to let go of our left brain driven expectations — and engage with our right brain, affective, experiential states. We are invited into the minds of the characters on screen, not via language but through expression, symbolism, and a cinematic language in development. This carries a resonance significantly different than the talkies we are accustomed to. Silents allow our own perceptions, associations, wishes, and dreams to fill the space . Yes, more often than not, we are still being presented with a narrative story — but it asks more of us and brings more of our unique subjectivity and empathy into the experience.

Approaching silent films can be intimidating. They can feel alien and awkward to the uninitiated. So, my goal with Silents, Please! STL is to make the experience less daunting, more inviting, and (frankly) more fun! When they were made, these films were public, communal experiences — and I recognize the value that this brings to the art form itself. So, welcome!! I hope to see you at an event. Come and say hello — I will be there to enthusiastically welcome you!

—Kate