This piece was written by Jahziah Dixon, one of the Slapstick Festival 2026 Roaming Reporters – a talent development scheme in partnership with BFI Film Academy South West.
Intro
Similar to Watershed’s Cinema Rediscovered and Encounters, I was invited as a Roaming Reporter at Slapstick Festival 2026. As the title suggests, it mainly revolves around Slapstick Comedy from the silent era, such as the works of Charlie Chaplin or Sam Taylor. Occasionally, they also show modern classics like South Park or In the Loop, examples of what screened this year. For this piece, I’m mainly going to talk about my personal favourite short films I watched throughout the festival, since they’re less known than the features and their entertainment value can be more compact in a 20-minute or less runtime.
Tilly and the Fire Engines
Tilly and the Fire Engines is a short and sweet silent film released in 1911 about two girls who terrorise civilians with a fire engine they find unattended. The film is only three minutes long, which makes it easily the most straightforward film I saw at Slapstick, yet that doesn’t stop it from being as chaotic as it sounds, and it features some highly psychotic performances by the leads, Tilly and Sally. Seeing them play around, harassing innocent people, is very entertaining in a shocking way, and their facial expressions made the film all the more sadistic.
This isn’t the only Tilly and Sally short; there are a few more that follow the same formula of the duo causing chaos, like in Tilly Visits the Poor, when they sabotage workmen and terrorise a bedridden old lady. I kind of wish these short films were longer because there’s certainly more you could do with these premises, but for what they are, they’re pretty amusing and could get a laugh out of you if you’re into physical comedy.
Helpmates
Helpmates is one of many Laurel and Hardy films, who are among the most famous comedy actors in Slapstick Comedy. This short in particular was the first Laurel & Hardy film I’ve seen, and it was a good example of their goofy and squabbling comedic style, alongside Towed in a Hole, which I watched at Bristol Megascreen – a bonus to my experience due to its rare use and large screen.
In Helpmates, Laurel & Hardy are trying to clean up Ollie’s house after a party before his wife returns. As you’d expect, this housework job doesn’t go to plan as the pair constantly injure and trip over each other in dramatic and exaggerated ways, which always catches me off guard. It feels highly cartoony for a live-action short, like when we see Hardy fly into the next room onto a table full of plates after tripping, or when the kitchen explodes after one matchstick. It creates a charming, hyperbolic style which, whilst occasionally a bit too childish and over-the-top, has the right amount of hilarious absurdity.
The Garage
Returning to silent comedy, we have one of my favourite films I saw at the festival, The Garage, starring Buster Keaton and Roscoe Arbuckle. Arbuckle and Keaton had been a pair for a while, making over a dozen films in the late 1910s, before drifting away following a massive scandal involving Arbuckle. Roscoe’s career was ruined, but Buster would make some of the most beloved and well-made comedies of the silent era, such as The General and Sherlock Jr.
The Garage is the first film I’ve seen from them, and it was a strong start. Some of the incredible set pieces, such as the fire, the dog chase, and spraying each other with the hose, are considerably great and entertaining in their own right. Arbuckle’s jubilant energy shines, but it’s Keaton that takes the show with his ability to fall and bump himself without feeling injured. I’m surprised this isn’t as highly rated as some of the other Keaton shorts, since it does a lot with its simplicity in a short runtime, gradually getting crazier and crazier like his best work.
All in all, The Garage isn’t anything mindbending, but it’s certainly the short film I had the most fun with and looking back at it for this piece was a delight.
Conclusion
Overall, Slapstick was a very interesting experience that allowed me to see many funny silent films on the big screen that I wouldn’t have the opportunity to. One last thing I’d like to point out is that I really admired how most of these were accompanied by a real piano performance, authentic to its roots.
