Wilton Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St. in Wilton, will present the 1922 documentary “Nanook of the North,” about life among Inuit above the Arctic Circle Sunday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m.
Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $10 per person to help cover expenses. The silent documentary will be shown with live music by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis.
Director Robert Flaherty’s film tells the story of Inuit hunter Nanook and his family as they struggle to survive in the harsh conditions of Canada’s Hudson Bay region. The movie was completed only after film from a previous expedition caught fire and was destroyed. Flaherty had to repeat his entire visit to reshoot the movie. To make the film, Flaherty built an ad hoc film processing lab in the challenging Arctic conditions and trained his Inuit friends to be his technicians.
Immersed in the culture for over two years, Flaherty embraced the new art form of movies as a way to show modern audiences that without all the complications and trappings of modern civilization, lives could be happily lived, even under nature’s harshest conditions.
In 1989, “Nanook of the North” was one of the first 25 films to be selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Following the screening, cake will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
The screening is part of the Town Hall Theatre’s ongoing series honoring the 100th anniversary of significant motion pictures that debuted in 1922. Programs will include all of 1922’s five highest-grossing titles, each shown on the big screen with live music, as well as century-old oddities, short films, cartoons and more.
Upcoming programs include:
— Sunday, Feb. 6, 2 p.m.: Rudolph Valentino in “Blood and Sand.” Film’s “Latin lover” in his first starring role, as a sexy bullfighter in this romantic thriller.
— Sunday, Feb. 20, 2 p.m.: “When Knighthood was in Flower.” Marion Davies goes medieval in this costume picture that put her on the map as a top Hollywood star.
— Sunday, March 13, 2 p.m.: Norma Talmadge in “Smilin’ Through.” In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, a romantic drama set in the Emerald Isle.
— Sunday, March 27, 2 p.m.: Douglas Fairbanks in “Robin Hood,” which was the top-grossing film of 1922.
— Sunday, April 3, 2 p.m.: Chaney/Houdini Double Feature. In “Flesh and Blood,” an escaped convict played by Lon Chaney hides out in Chinatown and plots revenge. In “The Man From Beyond,” illusionist Harry Houdini plays an Arctic adventurer frozen for 100 years.
— Sunday, April 17, 2 p.m.: Emil Jannings in “Othello.” Shakespeare’s tragedy is brought to the screen in this early German version.
For information, call 603-654-3456 or visit wiltontownhalltheatre.com. For information on the music, visit jeffrapsis.com.