The other day we came across this photo of an audio cassette tape apparently recorded at Home Movie Day 2003. The owner (HMD stalwart Dan Streible) couldn’t remember exactly what was on it and didn’t have the equipment on hand to play it back, but he posted the image on Facebook, which elicited comments with memories of the first Home Movie Day more than twenty years ago.
This got us thinking about how, in addition to the films and videos people bring to Home Movie Day, documentation of the event itself is meaningful (and fun!) to preserve and share. Did you know, for example, that there’s a Flickr group for sharing photos from Home Movie Day? It’s been a little quiet lately, but we hope it will see a revival this year!
Speaking of which, it’s high time to remind everyone that the traditional 3rd Saturday in October will be the official Home Movie Day for 2026, though, as we always say, any day can be Home Movie Day! Hachinohe City, in the north of Japan, held its 2026 HMD in March, and Athens, Greece has announced its first-ever Home Movie Day will take place on October 31.
So get out your point-and-shoot cameras and fire up your tape recorders, and don’t forget to bring some home movies too 🙂 We hope you’ll consider documenting and sharing your experience at Home Movie Day with us – on Flickr, social media, or directly at info@centerforhomemovies.org – we’d love to hear from you.
Super8 image courtesy of the Christopher Rey Perez Family Collection, ENTRE Film Center & Regional Archive. Cassette tape image courtesy of Dan Streible.
Our favorite day of the year is here, with Home Movie Days happening around the globe on October 18th in the following cities:
Taipei, Taiwan Cagliari, Italy Plymouth, UK London, UK Paris, France Bielefeld, Germany Buenos Aires, Argentina Bogotá, Colombia Bern, Switzerland Toronto, Canada Columbia, South Carolina, USA Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA Lincoln City, Oregon, USA Chicago, Illinois, USA
…in addition to many that have already happened and are still to come before the end of the year! Browse all the listings on our HMD Events page. And while the festivities are still fresh in your mind, submit your Home Movie Day Report, as well as sharing your experience on our Home Movie Day listserv. Not a member yet? Email us at info@centerforhomemovies.org to be added. It’s never too late or too soon to start exchanging ideas and planning – every day should be Home Movie Day!
Wishing everyone joy, peace, and connectedness, The Center for Home Movies
Love home movies? Want to get involved with CHM this year? We are pausing most of our activities as we regroup from a reduced capacity, due in large part to the impact of federal funding cuts on our board members’ working environments and the wider field of archives. But we’re committed to continuing the work of preserving and sharing home movies and supporting Home Movie Day, and we want to hear your ideas. Fill out the Center for Home Movies 2025 interest form, and we will be in touch about an upcoming virtual info session and/or possible in-person gathering. We are hoping to receive responses by September 30, 2025.
Now more than ever we at the Center for Home Movies are feeling the need to come together to illuminate our community histories against the pain and precarity that so many people are feeling. So we’re grateful to be marking our calendars once again for Home Movie Day 2025 on Saturday, October 18th. But of course, as always, anyone can host a Home Movie Day on any day, and we encourage you to get creative with seasonal and regional themes. The folks in Brattleboro, Vermont (first-ever!) and Rochester, New York have already gotten a jump on HMD season, and Ano Syros, Greece is coming up this Saturday, April 26th – Home Movie Days springing into spring!
Home Movie Day at ENTRE Film Center in Harlingen Texas on November 2, 2024 featured a special Día de los Muertos exhibition showcasing clips from their Rio Grande Valley home movie archive in an ofrenda.
Go to our About Home Movie Day page to find an upcoming HMD near you, or fill out this form to submit your own event information. If you’re interested in organizing a Home Movie Day but aren’t sure where to start, we have a wealth of resources available for first-timers and seasoned veterans alike, and you can also contact us directly at info@centerforhomemovies.org with questions or to be added to our Home Movie Day listserv, where you can connect with other hosts and share information. In the spirit of fostering the wonderful Home Movie Day community that’s developed over the past two-plus decades and is still welcoming newcomers, we’re encouraging people to share their post-HMD Event Reports on the listserv (report forms also available as PDF or Word doc at the bottom of our Documents page).
We also encourage the use of social media for HMD sharing! – use the hashtag #HomeMovieDay2025 and tag us on your social media posts so we can help spread the word: @centerforhomemovies (Instagram) @TheCenterforHomeMovies (Facebook). And again if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email us: info@centerforhomemovies.org. We can’t wait to see what you come up with this year <3
The Center for Home Movies is excited to announce that this year’s “official” Home Movie Day will take place on October 19th–the customary third Saturday in October–but as we always say, “Any day can be Home Movie Day!” There were already a couple of HMDs in February and March in Japan, and we’re looking forward to hearing about everyone else’s plans.
If you are ready to submit your Home Movie Day event, you can do so with this form. You can find information about hosting or volunteering at Home Movie Day in the Host HMD section of the website. Use the hashtag #HomeMovieDay2024 and tag us on your social media posts so we can help spread the word: @centerforhomemovies (Instagram) @TheCenterforHomeMovies (Facebook). And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email us: info@centerforhomemovies.org!
We’ll also be hosting a virtual gathering in May to share resources, questions, and information. Last year marked the 20th anniversary of Home Movie Day (check out our dance party video!), and now we’re looking ahead to what the future of this beloved tradition could hold. There are still so many people and communities with home movies in need of preservation and celebration–what new ways can we find to welcome them? Bring your brunch and your ideas, big or small, wild or mild! Everyone is welcome, even if you aren’t planning a Home Movie Day this year.
Information for the May gathering is below. More dates to come – we’re planning to make this a monthly thing between now and October.
The “official” Home Movie Day date for 2023 will be October 21st (3rd Saturday), but as always we welcome events throughout October and beyond – any day can be Home Movie Day! We’re continuing to encourage both virtual and in-person gatherings. Visitcenterforhomemovies.org/hmd/ to find out about local in-person events and view virtual programs from around the world. If you’re ready to announce your own Home Movie Day, submit your event listing here.
Under Construction!
You may notice our website seems a bit off – unfortunately we were hacked several months ago and while we were able to restore all the site content, the navigation remains jumbled. We are working on an overhaul, but if there’s anything you’re having trouble finding in the meantime, please get in touch with us at info@centerforhomemovies.org. And stay tuned for more updates soon as Home Movie Day season gets underway!
