If you truly love something, let he, she, they or it know. Now, in this instance, I am talking about silent film, and it is the season for wearing your heart on your sleeve, so here’s an opportunity to do just that. Coincidentally, if you are the sort of person who has considered giving up talkies for Lent this is also very much right up your avenue.

Cinema’s First Nasty Women: A Demographic Survey is a research, curation, and outreach project led by Laura Horak (Carleton University), Maggie Hennefeld (University of Minnesota), and Russell Zych (UCLA Film & Television Archive). And this Valentine season, the Nasty Women want you to let them know how you really feel about silent movies. If you fill in this survey, you will be helping them to gain a deeper understanding of silent film audiences today – who’s watching, how frequently, in what spaces and formats, and toward what ends? What are people’s (mis)impressions of silent-era cinema?

The Nasty Women plan to use the data collected in this survey to develop a better understanding of present-day audiences for silent film programming and physical media releases. Insights from this study will help silent film organisations build their audiences and raise audience engagement. In other words, it is in your interests to let them know how you truly feel.

How deep is your love? Let the Nasty Women know by filling in this survey. And remember, just as with a Valentine, all responses to the survey are totally anonymous – plus, completing the form is voluntary and doesn’t commit you to anything.

Take the survey here.