09/10/2026
🗓️Tonight, join us for a truly retro installation of Throwback Movie Night @ Tippitiwichit yet. We’ll be presenting the 1915 silent cult classic 'FILIBUS'!
Enter the silent era! 'FILIBUS' is a super transgressive and interesting work from this period. Made possible by Italian filmmaker Mario Roncoroni and science fiction writer Giovanni Bertinetti; the film tells the story of Filibus herself, an androgynous sky pirate who retreats to her technologically marvelous airship after heists. When a detective seems to be onto her, she effortlessly slips into multiple personas (both male & female) to throw him off. All this is leading to a scheme to steal priceless diamonds... and perhaps seduce the detective's sister...
'FILIBUS', while not received well 111 years ago when it debuted to Italian audiences, has stood the test of time as a marvel of early q***r representation. Not just that though, its slick stylistic sensibilities are striking, and the effects work is nothing short of magical for the time it was produced. Mind you, this film debuted in the same decade as the first feature film EVER, which was 1906's 'THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG'. The fact that such a nuanced feminist-futurist heist film exists this early in cinema's lineage is a gift.
All of this discussion undersells the value of Valeria Creti's portrayal of Baroness Troixmonde, AKA our title character of Filibus. Taking on a role with many layers to peel back and having to convey them sans dialogue is an incredible feat, but she owns the film. The film's influence is underdiscussed; the dual-identity vigilante clad in all black predates even Zorro! The film is using tropes from Jekyll & Hyde as it’s foundation, but I'd argue Filibus is still the original blueprint for dual-identity heroes like Batman, who didn't debut until 1939. Her characterization and style also rings similar to the cunning thieves from 1915's 'LES VAMPIRES', but these were produced in such close proximity that parallel thought seems likely. Even with nobody bold enough to pay direct homage to the film, it lives on as a piece of early cinema history we're all lucky is preserved so well.