BSL-English supported event with closed captions

Dogs and humankind have enjoyed the bonds of companionship for tens of thousands of years. It is no wonder with the advent of motion picture technology that dogs were among of the first subjects photographed in this new medium. During the first three decades of motion picture production, our canine friends moved from interesting photographic specimens to stars in their own right who enjoyed top billing over their human counterparts.

This presentation will provide a brief overview of this enjoyable aspect of motion picture history as represented in the collections of the Library of Congress.

Presented by: Steve Massa, George Willeman and Lynanne Schweighofer (Library of Congress).

Piano accompaniment: Mike Nolan

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HippFest begins at home! This online event is open to all and will premiere on both our YouTube channel and Facebook page at the advertised start time. You also have the option to book a ticket in advance, in order to have the relevant viewing links conveniently sent to you directly via email.

‘Gone to the Dogs is available to online audiences free of charge, and will remain available as part of our library of online content.

However, please consider choosing to purchase a ticket for £3 if you are able to do so. We rely on our box office income, grants and sponsorship for more than 80% of HippFest costs and invest all of the income generated by ticket sales back into the Festival. Those who can pay more help us to do this, whilst keeping the lowest priced tickets really affordable or free.

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Steve Massa is the author of Lame Brains and Lunatics 2, Rediscovering Roscoe, Slapstick Divas, Lame Brains and Lunatics, and Marcel Perez: The International Mirth-Maker. He has organised and curated comedy film programs for the Museum of Modern Art, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Pordenone Silent Film Festival, plus has curated and provided essays and commentary tracks for many comedy DVD and Blu-Ray collections. 

Lynanne Schweighofer is a Preservation Specialist at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center of the Library of Congress.  Her core responsibility is to ensure the proper care of moving image artifacts. Lynanne’s favorite part of the job is ensuring the many wonders of the collection are accessible to the public.  She took over management of the Film Loan program in 2012 and in 2015 began work with George Willeman to create digital reconstructions of seldom-seen silent films.

George Willeman is the Nitrate Film Vault Leader for the Library of Congress and spends most of his days helping preserve the Library’s collection of more than 150,000 reels of highly flammable nitrocellulose film, including The Great Train Robbery, Casablanca, Frankenstein, and The Thing from Another World. Over the past decade, he has worked, often in partnership with Lynanne Schweighofer, on reconstructing silent films for public viewing including The Sky Pilot, Hypocrites, A Temperamental Wife, and Ramona. His proudest accomplishment is the reconstruction of the eight surviving Edison Kinetophones, talking pictures from 1913. He has been with the Library since 1984 and spends his quiet times at home with wife Felicia and son James — and four cats.