Annual bring-your-own-film event celebrates historic amateur works and home film preservation
Orlando, FL: On Saturday, October 17, 2009, the Seventh International Home Movie Day will be observed in over fifty cities worldwide. The University of Central Florida’s Film, History, and Library departments, in partnership with The Cultural Heritage Alliance, are proud to bring this tradition to Orlando. The Center for Home Movies initiated Home Movie Day as a means of highlighting both the cultural significance of home movies and the need to properly preserve these important artifacts.
The Event will take place at UCF’s Center for Emerging Media located at 500 West Livingston Street in downtown Orlando, across from the Amway Arena. The program will begin at 11:00am and runs until 4:00pm. Members of all generations are encouraged to attend and bring their home movie reels, or simply an interest in the historic, often funny, and exciting world of amateur filmmaking. Film representatives will be available to help educate those interested in learning how to restore and preserve these precious glimpses back in time. Re-discover cherished memories, or gain a new perspective on an older generation. What did people wear? What did they drive? How did they live? Refreshments will be served and movies will be screened at the owner’s request. Home Movie Day is a great way to share memories and moments of the past with the community in order to help preserve these historic films.
Rose Beiler, Chair of the University of Central Florida’s History department, describes the arrival of Home Movie Day to Orlando as “A truly significant event, and not for just those interested in film but for the community as a whole.” She adds, “Preserving and cataloging these precious pieces of history is a major step in achieving a local archive of not just living images from the past but significant historic events caught on tape.” From some of NASA’s earliest launches, to the construction of Walt Disney World, numerous home movie gems have already been discovered locally. What images might be hiding in your old home movies?
Stephen Schlow, Interim Chair of UCFs Film department, comments that“This celebration offers many incentives for those who attend. Not only will people learn how to care for and store their film reels, but also learn how to have them transferred to DVD or a media format they can easily share with others.” He continues to note that “Home Movie Day is a long and widespread tradition which has always carried a special charm. This event has a special way of bringing people together.”
Home Movie Day, free and open to the public, is the world’s leading effort to honor and preserve small format films. Intended as a “bring-your-own-film” event, people can bring their home movies to a designated venue where equipment to inspect and project the film is provided. The event encourages audience discussion of the films, the filmmaker, and the images shared. Most events also include a “film clinic,” where experts can assess film condition, offer proper storage and care for film, and discuss important considerations for film-to-video transfers.
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