Scotland’s only festival celebrating silent film with live music is inviting audiences worldwide to enjoy the wonder of the Festival from the comfort of their own home as HippFest at Home returns, Monday 30 March - Monday 06 April.
Following the in-person Festival earlier in the month, HippFest at Home will screen a selection of features from the programme, filmed live with musical accompaniment in the historic Hippodrome Cinema in Bo’ness, Scotland’s first purpose-built picture palace.
HippFest at Home is the digital arm of HippFest or Hippodrome Silent Film Festival. Introduced over the pandemic and now in its fifth year, the online festival will offer unrivalled access to the UKs premier silent film festival with more online screenings than ever before.
A total of seven feature films will be available to screen online over a seven-day viewing window, offering audiences worldwide a chance to experience HippFest. Audiences will be able to tune into individual screenings or purchase a Digital Festival Pass to book their seat at HippFest wherever they are.
Each film will feature musical accompaniment filmed live from the Festival, with the option to see the musicians on screen for the best possible digital experience. Online audiences will be able to enjoy musical accompaniment from regular HippFest contributors Jane Gardner, Stephen Horne, and Meg Morley, along with international guest musicians for 2026’s event.
As well as streaming features, HippFest at Home will bring audiences a selection of Pre-Festival Presentations that will be available to watch online leading up to the Festival dates. From Monday 26 January, HippFest audiences can join archivist and founding curator of the Scottish Screen Archive Janet McBain presenting Scotland on the Silent Screen; Professor Bruce Peter will follow up his 2025 Saltire Award winning book in a presentation on Art Deco Cinema Architecture from Thursday 19 February; and Dr Paul Flaig will examine Weimar Slapstick in a talk premiering Tuesday 10 March.
Designed to complement the programme, these illustrated presentations offer online viewers a chance to hear from some of the most knowledgeable curators, critics and scholars of the silent film era. Tune in for the premiere to participate in the discussion live, or access all presentations at a later date via the HippFest at Home Playlist on YouTube.
Widely hailed as one of the best online experiences offered by a film festival, each HippFest at Home feature event will be accompanied by a welcome address from Festival Director Alison Strauss, an introduction from a guest speaker providing archival background or historical significance of the film, along with shots of the inside of the Hippodrome’s spectacular auditorium to ensure that everyone feels like they are a part of the action.
The 16th edition of HippFest will take place in-person at the Hippodrome Cinema in Bo’ness, Wednesday 18 until Sunday 22 March. HippFest at Home will follow with screenings available to view on-demand online within a seven day viewing window running Monday 30 March to Monday 06 April.
The HippFest Digital Festival Pass is available to book now for £35, or as an add on to the in-person Five-Day Pass for £10, and Weekend Festival Pass for £15 respectively, with individual online events announced in February.
To book your place at HippFest 2026 and to sign up for updates from the Festival, visit the HippFest website.
HippFest is a project of Falkirk Council, supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, with additional support from Screen Scotland, Creative Scotland, and National Lottery funding from the BFI.
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Image credits: Kat Gollock