In the early 20th century, filmmakers were frequently compared to hypnotists, enticing hysterical movie audiences with wild collective hallucinations! In these rarely seen films curated by UMN’s Maggie Hennefeld, a woman is hypnotized by a Svengali, a jealous lover practices tele-hypnosis to defeat his rival, an overworked housemaid has sleeping sickness, a female coach drive can’t believe her eyes, an obsessive inventor gives us a sneak preview of Zoom, and cinematography offers a miraculous cure to hysterical amnesia. With live, original music by Dreamland Faces (Karen Majewicz and Andy McCormick, featuring Molly Raben on Northrop’s historic pipe organ) this singular program is a must-see for film buffs, music lovers, and the historically-curious.

Program curated by Maggie Hennefeld. 

At the Hypnotist's (Chez le magnétiseur) , Alice Guy-Blaché, Gaumont, France, 1897
*Hypnotizing the Hypnotist , Laurence Trimble, Vitagraph, US, 1911
*Rosalie Has Sleeping Sickness (Rosalie a la maladie du sommeil) , Pathé, France, 1911
*Cunégonde the Coachwoman (Cunégonde femme cochère), Lux, France, 1913
*Love and Science (Amour et science) , M.J. Roche, Éclair, France, 1912
The Mystery of the Rocks of Kador (Le mystère des roches de Kador) , Léonce Perret, France, 1912

*Included in Cinema's First Nasty Women (Kino Lorber, 2022)
 
RUNTIME: Approximately 75 minutes