Fill your life with film
Performers
HippFest
All our feature films are accompanied by live music performed on stage by some of the world's finest silent film musicians.
Hippfest 2026 Performers
Daniel Abrahams
Finis Terrae
Composer, guitarist and double-bassist Daniel is deeply embedded in the Edinburgh folk, jazz and contemporary classical scenes where he lives. With his Scottish contemporary folk duo Dowally, he has soundtracked two Scottish archive films - ‘ReDrawing Edinburgh’ and ‘I Ken Whaur I’m Gaun’, as well as creating music for award-winning Belgium short ‘Les Racines de l’Eau’.
In 2024 he was commissioned by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to write Hope In The Dark, featuring a percussion instrument made from bicycle wheels. The Scotsman wrote that "...the stylish mix of blues and jazz with a nod to Scottish folk music in a beguiling violin solo was captivating.”
Daniel is currently working with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra as part of their Film Composer Lab programme, as well as composing for ensembles such as Calton Consort and Butter Quartet.
Frank Bockius
Why Be Good?; The Cameraman; The Mountain of Destiny; Laurel & Hardy: With Love and Hisses + Slipping Wives; Song
Frank Bockius is a versatile percussionist who has dedicated a major part of his musical work to accompanying silent film during the last 25 years. He regularly plays at many major festivals, cities and venues around the globe and records scores for silent film. www.frankbockius.de
Philippe Boudot
Finis Terrae
Born in Normandy, France, Philippe Boudot discovered the drums at 15. He trained both in London and at conservatories in Saint-Brieuc and Paris.
Drawing from a wide range of influences—from Afro-Cuban music, jazz, rock, and funk to Brazilian rhythms and repetitive electroacoustic music—his approach to drumming blends acoustic tradition with contemporary experimentation. His use of sampling, inspired by acts like the duo Bumcello, adds a distinctive texture to his performances. This versatility is reflected in his diverse collaborations, including touring with singer Clara Ysé for her latest album, performing jazz with Brame de Zéphyr, and playing with Samba de la Muerte both in France and internationally.
His connection to the UK music scene continues through his work with Dowally, with whom he recently performed at Glasgow's Celtic Connections festival.
Günter Buchwald
The Chase after Millions, The Cave of the Spider Woman
Günter A. Buchwald is one of the pioneers of the renaissance of silent film music and one of the most experienced practitioners. He accompanies silent films for over 46 years with a repertoire of 3600 titles. His wide experience in music from Baroque to Jazz allows him a huge stylistic variety in musical improvisation. Since 1984 he plays regularly at film festivals in Berlin (Berlinale, Int. Film festival), Bonn, Bristol Slapstick Silent (musical director), Pordenone (“Giornate del Cinema Muto”), Zürich, München, San Francisco Silent Film festival.
He plays piano, violin and viola, sometimes simultaneously. In 1985 he founded the Silent Movie Music Company of which Frank Bockius is its member since 1991.
Specialised on Silent Film, he conducts symphonic orchestras. Since 1998 he is associate conductor of the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra which premiered his scores for Murnau’s FAUST, NOSFERATU, BLACK FOREST MOUNTAIN SYMPHONY (2013), the newly restored silent classic CASANOVA (2019) (France 1929) and Charles Chaplin THE IMMIGRANT (2024)
Amongst others, Guenter is laureate of the Cultural Award for the City of Freiburg (2012) and for the Ad-Hoc Award for the Beethoven Fest Bonn.
John Burgess, Jane Gardner, Hazel Morrison
Saxophone Susy
This trio will take on Saxophone Susy!
Jane Gardner
Charlie Chaplin & Laurel & Hardy Double Bill (Community Screening); Saxophone Susy
Jane Gardner has delighted many a silent film audience with her sympathetic and eclectic accompaniments, both on solo piano and with other musicians. Her first film was to Victor Sjöström's He Who Gets Slapped (1924) in 2005. Since then, she has performed at many venues and festivals all over the UK, and she contributed to the 4-disk Blu ray/DVD box set 'Cinema's First Nasty Women’. Jane has been a regular at Hippfest since 2012.
www.janegardner.uk
Stephen Horne
The Pride of the Clan, The Swallow and the Titmouse, Forgotten Faces
Stephen first started accompanying silent films at BFI Southbank over 30 years ago. He has recorded music for several DVD and online releases, and regularly plays at major international festivals. Although principally a pianist, he often incorporates flute, accordion and keyboards into his performances, sometimes simultaneously. Stephen has been an award winner for the last 8 years in the Silent London Poll. www.stephenhorne.co.uk
Jo Einar Tobias Sterten Jansen
Fante-Anne
Jo Einar Tobias Sterten Jansen is a Norwegian fiddler and hardanger fiddle player, born in 1988, who’s playing has been described as powerful, dynamic and creative.
Meg Morley
The Outlaw and His Wife; April Fool; Why Be Good?
Since playing for her first silent film eight years ago, Meg Morley has quickly become one of the UK's pre-eminent silent film accompanists, performing at various international film festivals including Flatpack Festival, Il Cinema Ritrovato and Nederlands Silent Film Festival. Meg plays regularly at the London Cinema Museum where she is a resident pianist for the Kennington Bioscope. Her latest silent film projects include: a commissioned score (2018) for several Mabel Normand films released on DVD, and a piano score (2019) by Kino Lorber for a DVD release of Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Ring'.
www.megmorleymusic.com
Mike Nolan
High Treason
Mike works across Scotland as a versatile composer and performer, and is a regular at HippFest. He has accompanied silent film screenings for over 30 years including several commercial releases and live performances for the NLS Moving Image Archive. Mike is also a pipe organist and Nordoff-Robbins trained music therapist.
John Sweeney
Kidnapped; The Cameraman; Farewell to You; The Crowd
Since 1990 John has played for silent film at festivals and venues including the British Silent Film Festival, and the Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, Italy. He has composed scores for Lois Weber’s Dumb Girl of Portici (Milestone DVD) and The Great Victorian Picture Show at the London Film Festival (2018), and has recorded DVDs for the BFI, Cineteca Bologna and Edition Filmmuseum. John is one of the founders of the Kennington Bioscope which screens neglected silent films at the Cinema Museum in London.
