Presentation: Louis Feuillade’s Les Vampires

Pioneering crime serial film (1915-1916)
Saturday, 12/20/2025
2:00 - 4:00
Golden Gate Valley Meeting Room
Golden Gate Valley

1801 Green Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
United States

415-355-5666

Maya Sidhu will give a talk with video on Les Vampires (1915–1916), directed by Louis Feuillade, a pioneering French silent crime serial that blends mystery, thriller, and surrealism across ten episodes. The story follows journalist Philippe Guérande as he investigates a secretive criminal organization known as "The Vampires." Led by the enigmatic Irma Vep, the gang engages in a series of elaborate crimes, from murder to kidnapping, all while evading the authorities. Renowned for its innovative use of suspense, location shooting, continuity editing, and its proto-noir atmosphere, Les Vampires captured the anxiety of wartime Paris. A landmark of early cinema, come discover why Les Vampires still inspires audiences and filmmakers today. 

Maya Sidhu is a Lecturer in French at U.C. Berkeley where she teaches courses on French as a second language and Francophone cinema. 

Film & Video

Watch party and film discussions. 

Spotlight

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.