Home movie buffs revere the reel thing

Archivists and the public gather to solemnly exhume long-lost film strips

It was an unlikely sight: a few dozen people gathered in a darkened basement classroom at N.C. State University, eyes glued to the flickering images of other people's half-forgotten home movies.

For some, there is something mesmerizing about scenes of backyard barbecues and Christmases and birthdays past, captured on 8 mm and 16 mm film. It's why there is such a thing as Home Movie Day.

On Saturday afternoon, film buffs and home-movie lovers the world over came together to celebrate a near-extinct art form. The annual event encourages people to dig out reels of old 8 mm, super 8 and 16 mm films for viewing and preservation. This year, local groups held film events in more than 40 American cities, including Raleigh and Durham, and five other countries.

Film archivists at each gathering inspected the movies to determine their condition and projected those that were in good enough shape. The idea is to remind people of the historic and sentimental value of such films and give families the chance to view movies many have not seen in decades.

One man attending the Raleigh event brought in film shot at Yankee Stadium in the 1930s. He said Lou Gehrig played that day. A younger man, born in Taiwan, shared a film of his third birthday in 1979, showing his extended family sitting down to a meal of sushi and Chinese hot pot, a kind of fondue.

Gerry Probert, 70, of Garner brought several movies, including a reel of her daughter's first Christmas, circa 1966.

"I personally think photography is the best invention we've got -- you see things you'd never see otherwise," Probert said.

Soon her blonde baby girl -- now a woman of 40 with two children of her own -- was up on the screen grinning with glee amid a sea of gifts, including a little red wagon, a pink plastic telephone and a molded plastic tiger that skittered across the kitchen floor on a wind-up motorcycle.

"You can't imagine what it means to a parent to look back and see how cute they were and how happy they were," Probert said, gazing at footage she hadn't seen in 20 years. "I wouldn't take a million dollars for these, I really wouldn't."

Motion picture archivists started Home Movie Day in 2002 because not everyone is so reverent about home movies. Archivists realized in horror that many people were dumping their 8 mm and 16 mm films after having the images transferred to VHS tapes or DVDs, which they mistakenly thought would last forever. In fact, the original film can far outlast videotape or DVDs if properly cared for.

"People were basically throwing away their family histories," said Marsha Orgeron, a film professor at N.C. State University.

Orgeron and her husband, Devin, also a film professor at NCSU, began picking up other people's discarded home movies at garage sales and auctions a few years ago while both were doctoral students in Maryland. They organized Raleigh's first Home Movie Day last year.

Jeanne Duvall and her husband, William Reece, just came to watch Saturday. Duvall grew up attending movie nights at the home of a girlfriend whose mother was a super 8 film fanatic. Now, like the Orgerons, the couple pick up other people's discarded films at yard sales and flea markets whenever they see them.

"It gives you an in-depth look at everyday life," said Reece, who hopes to bring a sampling of their collection to next year's event. "You see backyards and the insides of people's homes."