SAN JOSE, Calif. — It’s been a moment since the world’s first real motion picture debuted, the 1895 black-and-white documentary “Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory in Lyon.” But in some minds silent films are as magical as ever, as evidenced once again in the return of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

The Jazz Age comedy “Saxophone Susy,” lovingly animated clown tale “Koko!” and Charlie Chaplin’s “The Gold Rush” — these and many more classics will grace the silver screen at the Orinda Theatre, named this year by Time Out as one of the “most beautiful cinemas in the world.”

Accompanying the films will be world-recognized musicians and sound-effects wizards, including Latin Grammy-nominated Sascha Jacobsen and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra. On Nov. 13, there’s a special event called “Amazing Tales from the Archives,” in which film preservationists show their current restoration projects (it’s free and features live music).

The films might be old, but some themes remain as relevant now as they were back then. “It seems history does repeat itself,” the organizers write. “But we have evidence from films more than a hundred years old that people can live through the worst of times with grace and purpose. We believe that art is the key to preserving our humanity.”

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Festival runs Nov. 12-16 at 2 Orinda Theatre Square, Orinda; $20-$35 general admission ($330 for an all-program pass), silentfilm.org.

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