Thanks to Pat Doyen for this report; my apologies for its belated appearance here:
We had a great time this year and could have screened film for another hour had we the time. There’s always next year. We encouraged more audience participation this year and were rewarded with more intros, more narration, and music to accompany some films. There was some nice questions/comments between audience members during films too.
We had a raffle with donated prizes that not only generated more donations, but will hopefully lead to some newly made home movies next year (we gave away a camera, projector and an editor).
Event Venue: Visual Studies Workshop, 31 Prince St.
Event time (screening): 6-9pm
Event time (inspection): 4-6pm plus early drop off ? Tue 10/14 5-7pm,
Thu 10/16 5-7pm, Fri 10/17 10-noon
Total Audience: 58 (not including volunteers ? 75 total people). Number of people bringing films: 16
Films screened by Gauge: 8mm: 5, Super 8: 6, 16mm: 6, 9.5mm: 0, Video: 0
Volunteers: 16
Special events/screenings: exhibition of amateur equipment and ephemera in the lobby of the Dryden Theater for 3 weeks before and 1 week after event; live music and on the fly DJ during the screenings (Tim Wagner).
Press (pre-event and post-event): RNEWS channel 9, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Batavia Daily News
Some film highlights: A film shot in Palestine in 1927, with views of the Wailing Wall, the Nile, Egypt, etc. complete with Packard and Hudson touring cars.
A super8 kodachrome from 1975 of an English carnival (The Bushey show) was an audience favorite. Very beautiful footage of amusement rides, a puppet show and a floral competition. There were two other films of amusement parks (!), both of which were local and no longer exist. The 16mm 1947 footage of Crystal Beach was pretty amazing – the rides provoking both terror and awe.
We also had a lot of films made by 70’s teens, one of which included the biggest house of cards I’ve ever seen. Truly impressive and funny