Slapstick Festival is an annual comedy film festival in Bristol, United Kingdom. The festival, which was created in 2005 by Bristol Silents, screens silent, classic, and visual comedy films. The mission of the festival is to introduce these films to modern audiences and bring them to life for a new generation of viewers. Silent comedies are presented with musicians performing a score live, introductions by special guests, and various special events take place throughout the festival.
The festival also produces one-off events throughout the year, such as a Tiswas reunion show at St George's on 16 April 2022, which reunited Bob Carolgees, John Gorman, Sally James and Chris Tarrant from the 1970s children's Saturday morning television show.
Awards
Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend
Slapstick Festival presents this award in collaboration with Aardman Animations. Winners are selected by a panel of comedy luminaries, previous recipients and festival patrons. This esteemed award is dedicated to honouring contemporary comedians who have left an indelible mark on the realm of onscreen and live comedy. The exquisite trophy itself, featuring the beloved Aardman character Morph is expertly sculpted by Aardman's model shop to capture the essence of the awardee.
Past winners:
2013: June Whitfield
2014: Barry Humphries
2015: Barry Cryer
2016: Ken Dodd
2017: Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders
Aardman Slapstick Visual Comedy
Created to recognise the excellence of comedians and film makers in the field of visual comedy. The award is a Morph sculpted to resemble the recipient.
Past winners:
2009: Eric Sykes
2010: Michael Palin
2011: The Goodies
2012: Pierre Étaix
2015: Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer
2016: Michael Crawford
Slapstick 'Legacy' Award
A metal 'coin' engraved with the words: In the footsteps of the late great slent comedians.
This award is given to performers and filmmakers who have created Slapstick and Visual comedy onscreen work worthy of mention alongside the original performers in early silent comedy.
2023: Harry Hill Cited work: Harry Hill's Lonely Island (2021-2) 2022: Tiswas presented to Chris Tarrant, Sally James, Bob Carolgees and John Gorman 2021: Remy Archer & Tom Gaskin Cited work: Snake Oil 2018: The Young Ones 2017: Roy Hudd 2016: Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith & David Kerr Cited work: A Quiet Night In 2015: Matt Lucas For his work on Pompidou TV series (2014)