List of Avant-garde Films Before 1930

A list of avant-garde and experimental films made before 1930. Though some had dedicated music scores written for them, or were synchronized to records, all of these films were silent. Several of them involve color, through tinting, hand-painting or even photographic color. In terms of defining "avant-garde" or "experimental" in this period, there are several criteria at work here. First and foremost are films that directly or indirectly reflect the major avant-garde art movements of this era and its "isms;" futurism, expressionism, constructivism, cubism, Dada and surrealism. Next in line are films that reflect radical types of film-making technique; unusual camerawork, editing and montage, non-standardized subjects and advanced kinds of amateur or non-commercial films. Animation was not a commercially viable medium before the introduction of cels through the Bray-Hurd process, but unless it is of an abstract nature, most animation is evaluated as to whether it is more significant considered as early animation or as something more radical visually. This list excludes most technical or medical experiments, and some subjects that could loosely qualify as "art films" but do not reflect the modernist esthetic considered within the realm of the avant-garde.