A groundbreaking new cinema experience, Silents Synced, is set to launch in the UK this autumn — pairing legendary silent films with era-defining albums by iconic rock artists, offering a bold reimagining of cinema and sound.
Kicking off the programme is F.W. Murnau’s 1922 horror masterpiece Nosferatu, presented with the haunting textures of Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac — the former marking its 25th anniversary this year. Screenings begin nationwide from 2 October 2025. Following in early 2026 is Buster Keaton’s visionary 1924 comedy Sherlock Jr., matched to the alt-rock dynamism of R.E.M.’s Monster and New Adventures in Hi-Fi, arriving in cinemas from 5 February.
An adaptation of Dracula, Nosferatu is a cornerstone of German expressionist cinema. Max Schreck’s portrayal of Count Orlok — a ghastly, clawed figure with a leering, alien visage — remains one of the most unsettling depictions of vampirism ever captured on film.
In contrast, Sherlock Jr. is a surreal, stunt-laden comedy that follows a daydreaming projectionist who imagines himself as a detective solving crimes inside the very films he projects. Keaton, a pioneer of physical comedy, famously broke his neck performing one of the film’s daring stunts — a testament to his creative audacity.
Each pairing in Silents Synced is thoughtfully curated, with albums selected not only for their musical resonance but for thematic parallels to the films themselves — resulting in unexpected yet harmonious cinematic experiences. The films and music are synced with care, creating emotional and narrative synchronicity that brings new life to century-old classics.
Further elements have been added to visually enhance the films by independent visual artists André Ouellette of the US entertainment production house Rooster Teeth for Nosferatu, and Myles Mangino, Pixies lighting designer.
Created by independent cinema pioneer Josh Frank — writer, producer, and founder of the famous Austin, Texas boutique urban drive-in, the Blue Starlite — Silents Synced is designed for and by the indie cinema community. Frank has previously collaborated with Black Francis, David Lynch, Harold Ramis, The Marx bros. Estate, and Tim Heidecker, and authored official biographies on the Pixies.
Conceived as a creative solution to the challenges facing cinemas around the world, Frank explains:
‘The question for independent cinemas all across the world has become: what can we do to not remain solely reliant on new tentpole Hollywood releases to get product and experiences people can—increasingly—often wait and get at home? This has led us to something brand new out of necessity, in the same way great outsider art has always been created. It’s a whole new cinema experience that we feel both film obsessives and music fans will find something really unique in.”
Silents Synced has been endorsed by the artists themselves. Bertis Downs, manager for R.E.M. commented:
“The guys thought it sounded like a great idea. They were struck by the uncanny way their music aligned with Sherlock Jr. — it’s kind of perfect. What a brilliant and unexpected way to present great art.”
Silents Synced
Radiohead X Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, in cinemas from 2 October 2025
R.E.M. X Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. in cinemas from 5 February 2026
Tickets:
Radiohead X Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
R.E.M. X Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr.
About Blue Starlite Entertainment
Blue Starlite Entertainment is the content division of Austin’s Blue Starlite Drive-In—the world’s first mini urban drive-in movie theatre, established in 2009. NBC News has referred to it as the ‘drive-in of the future,’ offering a nostalgic drive-in movie experience in an urban setting with modern amenities. Condé Nast named it “one of the world’s coolest outdoor movie theatres”. And it was featured in the November 2020 GQ list of “7 business’ helping the world stay sane during the pandemic”. Blue Starlite Entertainment is run by Blue Starlite’s CEO and creator Josh Frank, based in Austin, Texas.
In direct response to the pandemic and the writer’s strike that followed, revealing how little content there is when it’s main source of product becomes limited, Josh Frank created Silents Synced.
A new art form based in the traditions of midnight movies and the legendary tradition of playing Pink Floyd over The Wizard of Oz. Frank went to work on re-imagining what could motivate audiences to spend more time in their favourite cinemas experiencing things they can’t just get at home! The goal was to create new original innovative content in the form of experiential cinema that could be created by independent creators and could galvanize entirely new audiences to cinemas. Blue Starlite Entertainments Silents Synced is this creators’ proof of concept that independent artists and creators can bring new exciting experiences to cinemas outside the established channels. We hope to be the first of many indie creators who create new original cinema content experiences that can be offered directly to cinemas.
About Blue Starlite Owner Josh Frank
Josh Frank is an entrepreneur, writer, producer, director, and composer. He has penned numerous plays, including an authorised adaptation of Werner Hergoz’s Stroszek, screenplays, including an adaptation of Mark Vonnegut’s The Eden Express, and musicals, including The Jonathan Richman Musical. He is the author of Fool The World, the Oral History of the Band Called Pixies (St. Martin’s Press USA/Virgin Books U.K.) and In Heaven Everything Is Fine – The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers (Simon and Schuster/Free Press). In April 2014, Harper Collins released his novel, The Good Inn, co-written with Black Francis of the Pixies. Last year his 4th book A Marx Brothers and Salvador Dali lost story “Giraffes on Horseback Salad was released by Quirk Books and went on to be nominated for an Eisner Award. Over the last decade, Frank has worked with some of the most interesting and innovative musicians, filmmakers, producers and artists in the industry, including Black Francis, David Lynch and Harold Ramis. Frank has also interviewed over 400 of America’s most notable names in entertainment for his books and screenplays. With the rest of his time, he runs his Blue Starlite Mini-Urban Drive-In Movie Theatre and Creates Silents Synced in his home office in Austin, Tx.
About CinemaLive
Established in 2008, CinemaLive is one of the world’s leading producers and distributors of premium Event Cinema for cinemas and big screen venues around the globe. They have a wealth of experience in the music industry, having had success distributing events from artists including Westlife, Take That, Little Mix, Mick Fleetwood, Elton John, Imagine Dragons, Nirvana, The Grateful Dead, Joe Satriani, Fatboy Slim, Cliff Richard and Bruce Springsteen.