Photo courtesy of Home Movie Day
Get ready for the first ever San Luis Valley Home Movie Day (HMD). As a new addition to the 2016 Southern Colorado (SoCo) Film Festival, Home Movie Day will happen from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. Friday, October 14, in Adams State University McDaniel Hall room 117. The event is free and open to the public.
The San Luis Valley Home Movie Day is a chance for you to be involved. Bring your own home movies on VHS, 16mm or 8mm films that will be handled by experts in film, and screened for everyone to see. Don’t have a film? Don’t let that stop you. Come and participate by watching other amateur films, learn about film preservation, enjoy fun and games with the family, and get the chance to win cool prizes.
The host of this year’s event is Taylor Dunne, Adams State visiting assistant professor of mass communications. Dunne has been involved with Home Move Day for seven years, including two years as a volunteer at the New York City Home Move Day, as well as hosting Home Movie Day at The Boulder Public Library for five years. She previously worked as film projectionist at Anthology Film Archives and has years of film event experience.
The history of HMD goes back to 2002. A group of film archivists were concerned about what would happen to the vast number of amateur and home movies that were made in the 20th century. They created an event to conserve and preserve original home movie films. With the substantial rising of technology in recent years, people began to transfer their old films onto videotapes and DVDs. The goal of the archivists was and is to encourage people to keep their original films just the way they were, and to ensure them that "original films (and the equipment required to view them) can long outlast any version on VHS tape, DVDS, or other digital media." Original films, despite the stereotype, "are often carefully shot in beautiful, vibrant color—which may not be captured in a lower-resolution video transfer."
HMD has grown into a celebration of amateur films. People from all over the world are meeting to learn more about the archival advantages of film. HMD uniquely presents educational opportunities, where local archivists share tips on proper storage and care of personal films. The events focus on having fun and enjoying memorable times with family and community, as well as emphasize remembering the legacy and the history of film.
Come and enjoy the San Luis Valley Movie Day, at the SoCo Film Festival, hosted by Adams State University’s Community Partnerships and The Southern Colorado Film Commission. For more information, call 719-587-7230 or visit SoCo Film Fest.
