Spanning four days, the San Francisco Film festival features eighteen programs of rare and newly restored films. The festival celebrates silent films from the United States and abroad. The popular event saw 1,800 attendees in its inaugural year and now attendees number nearly 11,000 over the course of the lively and thought-provoking event. 

As always, this year the festival will prove to be both entertaining and educational. Along with each movie presentation, programming includes speakers who provide valuable insight into the movie and the silent film industry. 

This year, the marquee event includes the movies Upstream, Huckleberry Finn and Disney's laugh-O-Grams among many others. Each of the movies demonstrates how they have remained culturally relevant, as in the case of The Goose Woman, based on a 1922 murder investigation where a woman gave unreliable testimony in an attempt to solicit media attention.  

Limited numbers of tickets are available online, in advance onsite and occasionally at the door., but you'll want to get them early. Ticket prices range from free to just under $20. 

What: The San Francisco Silent Film Festival
Where: Castro Theater, San Francisco
When: July 14-17 2011
Url: http://www.silentfilm.org/index.php

Recommended Hotel: The Hilton San Francisco