About this episode

Alison Strauss discusses Scottish filmmaking and the silent film era, highlighting notable films and trends in animation.

As Founding Director of HippFest , Scotland’s first and only silent film festival, Alison Strauss is especially knowledgeable about the history of Scottish filmmaking and -going, as represented by three of her picks. But the conversation, which concludes with outlandish animation, also addresses the preponderance of short films in an era of increasingly long ones. Alison works as Falkirk Council’s Arts Development Officer (Film and Media), programming the Hippodrome year-round. Alison is the ‘face of the Festival’ and leads on the artistic programme, commissioning, funding, research and development, and touring. Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1912! Films and resources mentioned: Bo’ness Fair 1912 (1912) - Louis Dickson Mairi: The Romance of a Highland Maiden (1912) - Andrew Paterson Herring Harvest at Yarmouth (1912) - unknown How a Mosquito Operates (1912) - Winsor McCay The Cameraman’s Revenge (1912) - Wladyslaw Starewicz Annual Baby Parade, 1904, Asbury Park, N.J. (1904) - Alfred C. Abadie The Herring Harvest (1925) - unknown Drifters (1929) - John Grierson Patriotic Porkers (1918) - unknown Little Nemo (1911) - Winsor McCay and J…

More episodes of The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever

• 1912 E1 - Hollywood Incoming · April 22, 2026 · 6 min
• 1911 E7 - The Shorts Continue · April 15, 2026 · 5 min
• 1911 E6 - Casper Tybjerg · April 8, 2026 · 1h 1m
• 1911 E5 - Eva Hielscher · April 1, 2026 · 55 min
• 1911 E4 - Thomas Christensen · March 25, 2026 · 1h 15m
• 1911 E3 - Patrick Friel · March 18, 2026 · 1h 20m

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