Maine Home Movie Day

Do you have reels of old film in your attic that you’ve never been able to watch? Footage that captures a family event, community gathering, sporting match, or performance way back when? If so, we invite you to bring them to Maine Home Movie Day at the Maine Historical Society in Portland. Home Movie Day provides the opportunity to screen your 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm movies, get advice on their care and storage, and/or to just sit back and enjoy the films that others bring in.

While many folks have such gems on their shelves or in their closets, most don’t have a projector or the knowledge to handle and assess their films. The NHF Archivists will be present to conduct on-site inspections and screen the films.

Why Home Movie Day?
Home Movie Day events provide an opportunity for individuals and families to see and share their own home movies with an audience from their community, and to see their neighbors’ in turn. It’s a chance to discover why we care about these films and to learn how best to care for them.

The founders of HMD knew that many people have boxes full of family memories that they’ve never seen for lack of a projector, or out of fear that the films were too fragile to be viewed. They also knew that many people were having their amateur films transferred to videotape or DVD, with the mistaken idea that their new digital copies would last forever and the “obsolete” films could be discarded.    

HMD is now a worldwide celebration where people meet their local film archivists, find out about the archival advantages of film over video and digital media, and—most importantly—get to watch those old family films! Home Movie Day is a project of the Center for Home Movies.