Public invited to bring home movies to UWM for display, repair at Home Movie Day

MILWAUKEE_Members of the public are invited to come to UW-Milwaukee on Saturday, Oct. 14, for Milwaukee Home Movie Day. The free event will be from noon to 4 p.m. in Room B91 at UWM’s Mitchell Hall, 3203 N. Downer Ave.

Home movies in 8 mm, Super 8, 16 mm, VHS, MiniDV or digital formats will be inspected and/or repaired by UWM volunteers. The movies can also be screened for an audience while the owner narrates. The event is open to people who want to simply watch other people’s home movies as well.

Throughout the day, volunteers will provide explanations on how to care for film, video and digital files, give ideas on where to get old media transferred to digital format and offer tips for choosing a vendor. There will also be a recurring raffle and interactive games such as Home Movie Day Bingo, where participants will identify objects onscreen for prizes.

“Home movies are critical to documenting our history,” said digital archivist Shiraz Bhathena, who is one of the hosts of the event. “They illustrate cultural norms at a specific time in history without the artificial staging of a Hollywood movie. These memories are important to preserve and share, not just for people’s future family members, but also for the world to look back and see how people lived at a certain period in time. Our objective is to illustrate why this should be done and how.”

Community members are welcome to drop by from noon to 4 p.m., and films will be screened on a first come, first served basis as projectors become available.

The event is presented by the UWM Libraries’ Archives, UWM Film Studies program, and the UWM Department of Film, Video, Animation and New Genres. Special thanks to sponsors Pixologie, Fischberger’s Variety, Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. and City Market.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.