Bring-your-own-film event to showcase local home movies

For some, an invitation to a home movie marathon may seem as enticing as a visit to the dentist. But not for Mark Neumann, the newly hired director of NAU's School of Communication, who believes these films are an important art form that focuses on family and community histories.

"These are not just films of family events—birthdays and vacations," Neumann said. "Those are the clichés we hold about home movies, but there's a lot more to amateur film. ... I am constantly surprised by them."

His passion for what he calls "visual culture" runs so deep, in fact, that he's bringing a local event to campus as part of an international celebration of amateur films and filmmaking, known as Home Movie Day 2006.

The event will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. Aug. 12 in room 119 of the School of Communication, building 16, and will show how home movies shot on 8mm, Super8 and 16mm film offer a unique "you are here" view of decades past, often in gorgeous living color and an important part of personal community and cultural history, Neumann said.

"It's a big deal today to talk about 'indie film' and alternative forms of cinema," he added. "The truth is that ordinary people have been making films since the 1920s."

Participants are invited to bring in their own homemade films buried in their basements or attics to have them projected on the big screen at the event. Films should be on their original 8mm, Super8 or 16mm film, rather than modern-day video or DVD recordings.

"We'll project their films—and those from our own collection—to learn more about their own family movies, how to care for films and how home movies have helped capture 20th century history."

Neumann points to the 8mm film that recorded the assassination of President Kennedy as an example of how different our view of history might be without such footage.

"Our ways of seeing ourselves and others goes hand in hand with technology and cultural transformation," he said.

Having studied film and audio production as an undergraduate, and media and cultural studies as a graduate student, Neumann said he started looking critically at what happens when people have access to technology for making images of themselves and their lives.

"My interest in stories about how people live eventually translated into a deep interest in documentary and ethnography. So I've always had a context for making images and looking at people's lives," Neumann said.

Neumann believes Home Movie Day events bring the significance of amateur film footage back into focus, giving people with boxes of home movies they've long forgotten an opportunity to relive important events and cultural milestones.

"The best part of the event is the continuous screenings of home movies brought in by members of the community," Neumann said.

While this is the first year for Flagstaff to host a Home Movie Day event, more than 50 events are scheduled worldwide—including Home Movie Days in Singapore, Brazil and Australia.

For information on Home Movie Day in Flagstaff, visit http://homemoviedayflagstaff.org.

E-mail this page