“In 1985 a treasure trove of original prints dating from the early days of cinema surfaced in Mödling, a small town near Vienna, Austria. As the films had been stored in a factory producing gold leaf – sheets of paper coated with gold and used to create the lettering on the ribbons of funeral wreaths – the cans emerged from beneath a glittering layer of golden dust. We therefore decided to christen the collection the Goldstaub-Fund (Gold Dust Find). The name turned out to be an apt one, as the collection, the stock of a travelling showman, Karl Juhasz, who toured with programmes mainly of Pathé films, contains many golden gems of early cinema” (Nikolaus Wostry).

Cinema at its purest in Piazzetta Pasolini. Introduced by Nikolaus Wostry (Filmarchiv Austria); accompaniment by Stephen Horne (piano) e Frank Bockius (drums).

Ph. Lorenzo Burlando