Silent film "Wings" to be screened with live musical accompaniment on April 24, 2015

Directed by William A. Wellman, film won the first Academy Award for Best Picture

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Still from 1927 film "Wings" directed by William A. Wellman

ALBANY, NY (04/10/2015)(readMedia)-- WINGS (United States, 1927, 144 minutes, b/w, silent with live musical accompaniment by Mike Schiffer, directed by William A. Wellman) will be shown on Friday, April 24, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in Page Hall, 135 Western Avenue, on the University at Albany's downtown campus. Sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute as part of its "William A. Wellman Film Festival," the screening is free and open to the public.

A former flying ace with the French Foreign Legion during World War I, director William A. Wellman used his familiarity with aviation to craft this silent film about two fighter pilots in love with the same woman. The first Oscar-winner for Best Picture, and the only silent to win an Oscar prior to THE ARTIST in 2011, the film dazzled contemporary audiences with its innovative flying footage and aerial combat scenes. The film stars Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and Richard Arlen.

WINGS is the final screening in the "William A. Wellman Film Festival." The festival concludes on Friday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Page Hall with an appearance by his son, William Wellman, Jr., who will discuss Wild Bill Wellman: Hollywood Rebel (2015), his monumental new biography of his father.

For additional information contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.

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