HMD Report: Chicago, Illinois 2006

Home Movie Day Chicago 2006 was relatively slow as far
as home movie submissions, but come show time, the
room filled up. Although I thought that we may have
not gotten the word out well enough, there was a
healthy audience (70-75) for the show who came without
films. We started out with an EBE 16mm film called
“The City,” an early 1960s film that showcased Chicago
by following a white guy with a deep voice as he sped
around the city in his convertible. Always the
profile shot of the guy with a strong jawline whipping
along Lake Shore Drive. From there we went into all
home movies. Someone submitted some travel New
Orleans and New York footage circa 1950s? Jeffrey
Martin came in with footage of an intimate party of
geriatrics in someone’s living room, complete with
cocktails and explicit sexual groping. There was a
baby with a cigarette in another home movie, but the
highlight of the evening was the Vietnam footage that
one Chicagoan vet had brought to the archive at an
earlier date. He was never in combat, but was able to
capture the R&R climate. Very reminiscent of MASH
actually. BarBQs, beautiful native women, and there
was a sequence almost in real time of the donor and
several of his buddies plowing through a large Ritz
Cracker tin of marijuana. We slowly saw the
deterioration of the party go from winks and grins to
a couple of the vets wrestling each other in this
small room where there are maybe 6 guys slowly getting
fried out of their minds. Tim, the donor, gave a dry
and hilarious commentary throughout the film.

Bingo as always was a success and the music that was
played along with the movies was a crowd pleaser.
What I took away this year is that this is a concept
that is beginning to resonate among the Chicago group
that came. There were many repeaters from last year
and everyone was genuinely thankful that we put on the
event.

Our volunteer crew that ran it are for the most part
repeaters as well and totally make the event rock.

Signing off from Chicago
Nancy Watrous
Chicago Film Archives