Janet Ceja’s report from Home Movie Day 2009 in Pittsburgh:
Event Venue: Waffle Shop
Event time (screening): 7-9 p.m.
Event time (inspection): 4-6:45 p.m.
Total Audience: 26. We also streamed live over the internet and since the weather was lousy there may have been a few people who chose to watch from home.
Number of people bringing films: 4
Films screened by Gauge: 8mm: 6, 16mm: 2
Volunteers: Samantha Le Blanc, Rabia Gibbs, Bo Baker, Sean Kilcoyne, Diana Little, Miriam Meislik, Renee Ziemann, Lindsay Mattock
Press (pre-event and post-event): Press was limited to flyers around town, University of Pittsburgh, and social networking (online and off line).
Movies screened will be described in pairs by subject:
Wedding Reception: There were two 8mm films documenting one audience member’s mother’s wedding receptions. There were two wedding receptions with lots of dancing, socializing and etc. One scene that was striking and that got the audience talking was a shot of a pregnant woman drinking and smoking.
Father: There were two 8mm films documenting one audience member’s father. One was based in a local PA town in which her father is being filmed post a car accident in crutches visiting the junk yard where the car ended up, as well as scenes of him in front of the family owned furniture store and other exterior shots of the town. The second location was unknown, but another audience member identified it as Florida. This film was most memorable for its initial shot where we see a sign on the road that said “No Niggers, Mexicans or Puerto Ricans.”
Kids: There were two 8mm films documenting one audience member’s grandparents, aunts, and uncles as kids at the beach and theme parks in one film, and the other in the woods.
Ed Films: I brought in some educational films that circulated around the Pittsburgh school district. One was titled Bus Nut, and the second Pittsburgh Holiday, Kennywood Park.