The Onyx Downtown at the Nevada Theatre & Nevada City Film Festival present: Home Movie Day on Nov. 13

In celebration of Home Movie Day, The Onyx Downtown at the Nevada Theatre, the Nevada City Film Festival, and a group of professional film archivists will host a free local community event on Sunday, November 13 at the historic Nevada Theatre. Activities begin at 12pm with a workshop for volunteers on the preservation and care of classic film formats including 8mm and 16mm, followed by a screening of films submitted by the community at 4pm.

Home Movie Day is a celebration of amateur films and filmmaking held annually at many local venues worldwide. Home Movie Day events provide the opportunity for individuals and families to see and share their own home movies with an audience of their community, and to see their neighbors’ in turn. It’s a chance to discover WHY to care about these films and to learn HOW best to care for them.

“We take for granted that it’s only been in the last 10 years that it has become easy to document everyday moments in our lives with the ease of our camera phones. Some of us remember using VHS recorders or super 8 cameras, and now have boxes of  old media, but no way of showing or enjoying them,” said Jesse Locks, executive director Nevada City Film Festival. “We want to help resurrect these films, show how to preserve and care for them, and project them up on the big screen for all to enjoy.”

One of the event’s organizers is Pamela Vadakan, an archivist, home movie enthusiast, and director for California Revealed, a State Library initiative that digitizes and preserves California histories. She has also worked at the Pacific Film Archive, where she organized her first Home Movie Day in 2007.

Wonder what a film archivist is? They are the librarians of the cinematic world.

“Hold on to your original reels and tapes! Film and magnetic media are fragile formats but can last forever if you care for them,” says Vadakan. “Home Movie Day is an opportunity to share your home movie memories, and learn how to digitize and preserve them for generations to come. We welcome and treasure your stories!”

Folks interested in having their movies screened can drop off their Super 8mm, Regular 8mm, 16mm, DVDs, or files (sorry no VHS this year) in advance to the Nevada City Film Festival Headquarters at 110 Union Street, Nevada City on Tuesday and Thursday, November 1 and 3, 9am-5pm or The Onyx Theatre, 107 Argall Way, Nevada City during business hours, before end of November 4. For community members outside of the county, home movies can be submitted digitally at www.nevadacityfilmfestival.com/homemovies. Please remember to complete this submission form.

If you miss the early drop off window, feel free to bring your films by the Nevada Theatre on Home Movie day from 2pm-4pm so they can be inspected and prepped in advance for the open screening. We will return all films at the end of the screening.

Individuals interested in volunteering and learning about home movie preservation and small-gauge film handling, should email jesse@nevadacityfilmfestival.com or call (530) 362-8601.