I’d point you to “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” – the sets are a study in diagonal tension, the shadows are not just atmospheric but narrative. The composition drives the viewer’s eye like a leitmotif, and the lighting turns every corner into a character. In “Nosferatu” the low-key illumination casts long, looming shapes that echo the film’s themes of dread without a single spoken word. The silent era taught us that framing, depth of field, and chiaroscuro can carry emotion with the same force as dialogue; the viewer learns to read the mise‑en‑scène as if it were a script. So for your gathering, any film that lets the image speak for itself—especially the German expressionist ones—will resonate because the visual architecture is the story’s backbone.

A montage works, but only if the transitions feel inevitable, like a narrative thread. Start with a high-contrast opening shot – perhaps the looming, painted walls of “Caligari” – then cut to a close-up of a trembling hand in “Nosferatu” to ground the viewer in the human element. Keep the pacing in thirds; let each frame linger for three seconds to allow the audience to absorb the light, the shadows, the geometry. Insert a brief silent clip of a child’s drawing—real, raw—to remind everyone that the story continues outside the screen. The key is to let the visuals guide the mood, not to overwhelm it with rapid cuts. A steady rhythm, with occasional sharp contrasts, will keep the audience engaged without turning the montage into a distraction.