Filming ourselves and sharing the footage isn’t a modern phenomenon inspired by smart phones. It goes back to the first film in 1888 with Louis Le Prince’s Roundhay Garden Scene, a silent short of his family at home that demonstrates how we’ve always seen ourselves, friends and family as interesting subjects.
As advancements in technology led to more portable and affordable cameras, amateur filmmakers continued documenting their lives; capturing the everyday and extraordinary moments that moved and made us long before we were sharing selfies. These recorded memories have become an archive of our private lives and public history that preserves forgotten times, places and experiences.
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Not in ACMI's collection
On display until
16 February 2031
ACMI: Gallery 1
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The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Minds → MM-11. Memory Garden