Visualising the Marvellous: G. A. Smith and his film 'Santa Claus' (1898)
Dr Frank Gray

Thursday 10 December @ 7pm at The Old Cinema, University of Westminster 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2UW

G. A. Smith (1864-1959) was one of the great early film pioneers. A stage mesmerist and an associate of the Society for Psychical Research, his six 'spooky' films of 1898 represent his fascination with the 'other side' and his close association with late Victorian paranormal culture. The series featured ghosts, telepathy, fairies, the devil, transformations and visions. Its only survivor is 'Santa Claus'. In it, Santa fills the children's stockings with presents and then … vanishes. This was a simple and effective demonstration of the new medium's ability to create an image of wonder.

Dr Frank Gray is the Director of Screen Archive South East at the University of Brighton and a specialist in late Victorian cinema. He has written and lectured widely on the two key members of the 'Brighton School': the film-makers George Albert Smith and James Williamson.

This event is part of the ‘Beyond Text: Spiritualism and Technology in Contemporary and Historical Contexts’ research network led by Dr Sas Mays from the Higher Education Institute at the University of Westminster.

Now in its second phase (2009-10), the project 'Spiritualism and Technology' emphasis is focusing on the ways in which spiritualist practices might be paradigmatic for culture at large, and to concentrate on the role of archives and technological memory in cultural life, under the title ‘Archives, Haunting, Culture’. The project is staging a series of public events at the University of Westminster in collaboration with the Magic Lantern Society.