In the not-too-distant past, the mere
mention of the phrase “home movies” in a few family circles would elicit a great
deal of groaning and the rolling of many eyes, followed by lots and lots of
fleeing. Apparently no one was exactly clamoring to get yet another look at
Aunt Sophia’s unsuccessful stab at waterskiing, Cousin Murray’s bar mitzvah, or
the Jaws ripoff your brother tried to
shoot in the garage.
But what some once considered a
grueling familial obligation others now believe to be an important art form and
anthropological document. Recently film archivists have become worried that
these personal records might be lost due to mishandling and the limited
availability of projection equipment. The movement to preserve and celebrate
these snapshots of 20th century American life begat International Home Movie
Day, which is now held each year on the second Saturday in August in cities all
over the world.
The third annual International Home
Movie Day is slated for Saturday, August 13, with free events planned at the
George Eastman House that include an information session regarding the care and
storage of your celluloid memories, as well as an evening spent projecting your
home movies on the screen at the Dryden Theatre.
That’s right: your home movies.
Through Friday, August 12, anyone who
wants to offer their home movies up for public consumption is invited to stop
by the George Eastman House and drop off up to four reels of film in either
Super 8, 8mm, 16mm, or 35mm formats. A number of people have movies socked away
in their homes, and often they’re not certain what those reels contain — or
even what condition the films are in — since they lack the necessary
equipment to view them.
At the George Eastman House, a film
archivist will inspect your submission and decide whether it can be projected
without being harmed. The Dryden Theatre provides the projection equipment, a
glorious venue, and then your film gets returned to you after its big-screen
debut. All you have to do is sit back and cross your fingers that the movie you
handed over doesn’t contain footage of you in the tub.
Kelli Hicks is the chief organizer of
Rochester’s Home Movie Day. A graduate of the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of
Film Preservation, Hicks works at the George Eastman House as a film archivist
and has been involved in HMD since its inception in 2003. She’s quick to point
out that the definition of “home movie” isn’t limited to films of birthday
parties and family vacations, but also encompasses animated or live-action
narratives shot by amateurs, complete with scripts and editing, as well as
chronicles of daily life in society.
“I think they’re considered kitschy
and funny,” she says, “but there’s a much bigger issue and that’s a more
complete view of history.” She cites Abraham Zapruder’s 8mm footage as probably
the most famous example of the genre: “The reason we have information about
John F. Kennedy being shot is because someone decided to shoot a home movie.”
The
Rochester-based events during HMD’s first two years went down at Visual
Studies Workshop with around 50 to 70 people in attendance, giving the
screenings an intimate, homey feeling. But the dedicated grassroots efforts of
HMD’s volunteers have garnered more attention for the event, making the move to
a bigger venue both logical and feasible. Jim Healy, assistant curator of
motion picture film at the George Eastman House, says he had been following
HMD’s growth and approached Hicks about a possible journey down the street to
the former residence of the man who started it all.
“This is more or less the birthplace
of smaller-gauge film,” Healy says. “It put moviemaking into the hands of the
amateur in the way that the Brownie camera brought photography into every
home.”
As an archivist, Hicks is especially interested in the
preservation of home movies, which can thrive in certain environments and turn
to vinegar in others. She, along with fellow archivists and lab technicians,
will discuss these issues and field questions about home archiving during an
open information session on the afternoon of Home Movie Day. Topics to be
addressed include the handling and storage of your films and the pros and cons
of transferring your home movies to video or DVD. (Hint: If you decide to
transfer, don’t even think about jettisoning the source film.)
It’s impossible to know what the
community will submit as far as home movies, but GEH is dipping into its
world-renowned archives to screen some of its gems, including the home movies of Joan Crawford
as well as Nickolas Muray’s 16mm color footage of artists Frida Kahlo and Diego
Rivera. Home movies shot on the set of Raging
Bull will also be presented, and Paula Savage, whose father, Peter,
co-wrote Jake LaMotta’s autobiography, will be in attendance to guide viewers
through the images.
HMD organizers can’t guarantee that every home movie received will
be screened, but they do plan to show at least one selection from everyone who
submits a film. The clips will be about three to seven minutes in length, and
the film’s owner is encouraged to provide the audience with an introduction to
or commentary during the movie.
Or perhaps you feel your masterpiece has always needed a rousing
score. Dreamland Faces — that’s Andy McCormick on saw and Karen
Majewiscz on accordion — will be on hand to provide musical accompaniment as
well as entertain during breaks in the three-hour program.
There’s an obvious sentimentality
associated with our own home movies, and Hicks reports that one of the great
rewards of the HMD events is allowing people to see loved ones who have long
since passed as well as images of their younger selves. The camp factor is
present, too, thanks to the now-frightening hairstyles, questionable fashion,
and the furniture we vaguely remember and secretly wish our parents still
possessed. But how would a bunch of strangers benefit from watching your
personal stash?
Healy — who has a couple dozen of
his own home movies that he’s weeding through for HMD — says, “Home movies
achieve their own kind of art and give us a very specific sense of place that
films made for art’s sake don’t afford. And they’re evidence of shared
experiences, letting us all know we’ve all gone to the same amusement parks and
played on the same playgrounds.”
We’ve been bombarded with hype about
how digital moviemaking
has made self-expression ultra convenient, but that’s no reason to put your
Super 8 camera away… because there’s always next year’s Home Movie Day.
“There is an incredible variety of
people making their own individual cinema,” Hicks says. “Their imagination and
creativity is pretty wide-reaching, and their personal, everyday lives include
extraordinary events.”
It may not be the film debut you had
hoped for, but are you ready for your close-up?
The Third Annual International Home Movie Day is Saturday, August 13,
(Submissions accepted until August 12), at the George Eastman House, 900 East
Avenue. An information session about care and storage of home movies is in the
Curtis Theatre from 3 to 5 p.m., followed by screening of home movies from 7 to
10 p.m. in the Dryden Theatre. Free, donations accepted. www.homemovieday.com,
271-3361 x352
This article appears in Aug 10-16, 2005.
