Festival du Cinéma muet d'Anères: The Dragon Painter

Festival du Cinéma muet d'Anères proudly presents **The Dragon Painter**, a 1919 American silent masterpiece directed by William Worthington and headlined by Sessue Hayakawa, the first Asian actor to command a leading Hollywood role. Joined on screen by Tsuru Aoki and Toyo Fujita, this rare gem of the silent era was financed by Hayakawa's own Haworth Pictures Corporation, offering an almost entirely Asian cast in a period when such representation was startlingly uncommon. Set against the misty peaks of Hakawa, the film follows Tatsu, a devoted painter who discards his finished canvases to the gods in a desperate plea for his fiancée—believed to have been transformed into a dragon. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, the renowned Kano Indara seeks a protégé to carry on the family’s artistic legacy, weaving a tale of love, sacrifice, and creative fervor. With a runtime of 1 hour and 2 minutes, the original DCP release runs in striking black‑and‑white and is paired with French subtitles. In this special presentation, the silence will be enlivened by a live score performed by A&R saxophonist Florent Lalet, violinist Sylvain Rabourdin, and cellist Lina Belaïd, echoing the Japonism and exotic allure that defined early twentieth‑century cinema. The film is slated for screening at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, a must‑see for fans of silent cinema, history, and evocative storytelling.