Guelph Politicast #2.3 - David J. Knight

It's fairly rare that I can merge my two passions, politics and film, but a new exhibit at the Ed Video Gallery gave me an occasion to combine the two in this, the third episode of the Guelph Politicast's second season. Today, I talk to David J. Knight, an artist and archaeologist who's put together a new show to coincide with the Festival of Moving Media called Hidden Histories: Guelph Cinema.

David J. Knight is an interesting figure. Since returning to Guelph he's ravenously put together numerous works dedicated to Guelph history including a tribute to the Petrie building. Along with Hidden Histories, he's recently worked on two books through P.S. Guelph, one called Sound Guelph about the history of alternative music in the Royal City, and the other a reprint of John Galt's gothic novel The Omen, and yes, that's a work by Guelph founder John Galt. We talk about both books as part of our conversation.

This is a unique podcast in that I spend the first 18 minutes in conversation with Knight at the Ed Video Gallery. For the rest of the podcast, Knight showed me a couple of stops on the walking tour to talk about the cinema history that's long been (nearly) forgotten. Personally, I found it fascinating, and I think local cinephiles will find it fascinating too.

You can stream the episode here, or download it from the source here.

If you're interested in taking the walking tour, your last chance is Saturday November 2nd at 2 pm starting at 34 Carden Street. A $5 donation is requested, and you can download the accompanying app here. After the tour, the official reception kicks off the show at Ed Video from 2:30 to 4. The exhibit at Ed Video will be on till November 22, and the Guelph Civic Museum component be on display till January 5.

The silent movie sounding piano music that started the show is "Chase the Comic" from Silent Movie Pianos 1 - Action and Marches.

 Next up on Guelph Politicast, I will be interviewing Guelph Civic League President Andy Best.