This documentary examines home movies and their unique place in popular culture. Shopsowitz, whose father was a keen amateur filmmaker, traces the history of home movies and camera equipment manufactured for home use from the 1920’s, through to the amateur explosion of the thirties, forties and beyond. Footage shot by her father and other filmmakers is interspersed with interviews with scholars, collectors and filmmakers, to convey not only the personal worth of home movies but their cultural value as historical documents that reflect social mores and values.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
310639
Language
English
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Amateur motion pictures
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Home movies and video
Amateur & Student Films → Amateur films
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)