Buster Keaton is just one of many classic stars being shown at the Toronto Silent Film Festival. (Courtesy: John McNab/Flickr)

Shirley Hughes, producer and ”mother hen” of the festival, told TheDailyPlanet.com a global silent film revival was part of the impetus to create a team and organize the event.

She said that the films are being shown at such Toronto locations as Casa Loma and Innis Town Hall with live music scores, which are almost entirely improvised.

"You’ll be seeing something which I think people will think is extraordinary and astonishing, especially if they’ve never seen a silent film before on the big screen,” she said.

Hughes said her team, including Marc Wonnacott and Chris Seguin, firmed up the venues late last year, and relied on their own funding for the festival.

“We couldn’t get any sponsorship because it’s a first year event,” said Hughes, a three-decade-long member of the Toronto Film Society which long featured a spectrum of silent films.

“If you wait for the absolute perfect time to do something you end up never doing it, so I thought let’s just get this off the ground. Let’s see what happens with it; let’s see what the response is.”

Eva Ziemsen, Film & TV Production Coordinator at Humber College, told TheDailyPlanet.com a silent film comeback could be due to cell phones.

Having content that doesn’t necessarily need audio opens the door for these classic pieces, especially in the case of international audiences who won’t have to speak the language to understand, she said.

Ziemsen said her third year students will, coincidentally, be having a silent film screening, also with live music.

The Toronto Silent Film Festival runs until April 15.  Show details can be found on the festival website.