Remember those 50-year-old home movies collecting dust in the garage, or that box of old 8mm films in the closet?
Now is the time to brush them off so they can be viewed and archived at the University of Central Florida’s fifth annual Home Movie Day on Oct. 20. The event is held in conjunction with the 10-year-old International Home Movie Day.
Anyone in the community can submit old 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm home movies for cleaning and showing, whether they captured your fifth birthday party, your family’s vacation to Gatorland or even if you don’t remember what is on the film.
The free screenings on three projectors will be hosted 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. by UCF Film and the School of Visual Arts & Design at UCF’s Center for Emerging Media, 500 W. Livingston St.
Early drop-off of films is Monday through Friday, Oct. 15-19, on the main campus at UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication, Room 121. Early drop-off ensures the films will be cleaned and ready for projection on event day. Films can also be taken to the Center for Emerging Media on the day of the event for consideration to be shown.
If anyone wants to have their films archived at UCF, they are asked to do so, said Monica Barberousse, marketing specialist in the School of Visual Arts & Design. The films are being archived and being added to the database for students to use. Eventually that access will be available to the general public.
“We have about 90,000 feet of footage that are either archived, in the process of digitization, or have yet to be analyzed,” Barberousse said. “From my experience at the last Home Movie Day, there were many patrons beaming with excitement at seeing their footage after decades.”
Through the years, films have been donated to the archives showing everything from the opening day of Disney World, to World War II footage from fighter jets, to 1950s’ weddings, holidays and many other family events.
Everyone is welcome to attend the screenings, and representatives will be available to help educate those interested in learning how to restore and preserve these glimpses back in time. Some films have been turned away because they unfortunately had become too degraded to show.
The project is sponsored in conjunction with the UCF Library, UCF History Department, Cultural Heritage Alliance, and RICHES of Central Florida.
Home Movie Day 10 – Orlando from Monica Barberousse on Vimeo.