Metrograph at Home presents
HOME MOVIE NIGHT:
A selection of home movies and regional films preserved by the
Women’s Film Preservation Fund of NYWIFT
Streaming October 15th-31st
In celebration of Home Movie Day
“Home Movie Night” illuminates the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of women in cinema, showcasing a diverse range of home movies and amateur narratives, which have been preserved by the Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television and edited together into one unique reel. The program shows women capturing the times in which they lived with humor and inventiveness. Highlights include the orphan recording at a ’50s lesbian bar; images from regional silent-era filmmakers such as Angela Murray Gibson and Margaret Cram Showalter; the private world of The Washington Post Katharine Meyer Graham’s childhood, Miamiartist Conni Gordon’s 1960s painting parties, and Chicago’s Amateur Cinema League humorist and filmmaker Margaret Conneely.
Metrograph is pleased to offer a limited-time incentive on Metrograph Membership through October 31. Receive 40% off an annual membership by entering special code: NYWIFT40 at check out. Metrograph Membership gives you access to all films streaming At Home, special premieres, conversations with favorite filmmakers, and Metrograph Editions. You’ll also receive discounts at the Ludlow Street location for the Commissary Restaurant, Bookstore, and $10 Member tickets at the Box Office (normally $17). Learn more.
RUNNING TIME: 64 minutes (est)
Belfast Movie Queen (1935) 16mm, 4 min selects
Boston-based itinerant filmmaker, Margaret Cram Showalter traveled to various towns in New England to cast local people and townsfolk in her “Movie Queen” films.
Filmmaker: Margaret Cram Showalter
Archive: Northeast Historic Film Archive
Preserved by: the Women’s Film Preservation Fund
Elwins to Calcutta (1938) 16mm, 4 min selects
Social philanthropist travels throughout India to study the culture including a gathering with Gandhi.
Filmmaker: Adelaide Pearson
Archive: Northeast Historic Film
Preserved by: the Women’s Film Preservation Fund
Florida Vacation (1958) 16mm, 6 min selects
The Sklar family home movies were donated to the Wolfson Archives in 1999. Not much is known about the Sklar family but their home movies provide a delightful snapshot of mid-century Miami. From poolside sunbathers and diving performances at the Deauville (6701 Collins Ave.) who are joined by the likes of Frank Fontaine and Bobby Darin. 50’s fashion, suntanning and dancing by the poolside.
Filmmaker: Sklar Family
Archive: Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives
Preserved by the Women’s Film Preservation Fund
French Quarter, New Orleans (2000-2005) Super 8 (preserved on 16mm), 4 mins selects
Intimate super 8 films that capture the life and culture of the French Quarter before and after Hurricane Katrina devastation.
Filmmaker: Helen Hill
Archive: Harvard Film Archive
Preserved by: Harvard Film Archive; Women’s Film Preservation Fund
Eugene & Agnes Meyer Home Movies (1920’s) 16mm, 6 min selects
Home Movies of the Meyer family with sculptor Constantin Brancusi at the family estate Seven Springs Farm in Mount Kisco, N.Y. In these beautifully restored films, we see glimpses of the privileged childhood life of Katherine Graham (of The Post legacy).
Filmmakers: Agnes Meyer, Eugene Meyer
Archive: Library of Congress
Preserved by: the Women’s Film Preservation Fund
Mona’s Candlelight (c.1950) 16mm (preserved on 35mm) 4 min
Purchased at a flea market in an unmarked box, this home movie captures entertainment at a San Francisco-based lesbian bar, Mona’s. Rare Footage
Filmmaker: Unknown
Archive: UCLA Film & Television
Preserved by: the Women’s Film Preservation Fund; Academic Film Archive of North America; UCLA Film & Television Archive and Outfest Legacy Project; Ronal T. Shedlo Preservation Fund; Academy Film Archive
Artist Conni Gordon (1961) 8mm, 6 min
Local television personality and painting instructor, Conni Gordon, leads a bright and sunny 60’s painting party at Viz- caya Museum and Gardens, Miami, Florida.
Filmmaker: Conni Gordon
Archive: Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives
Preserved by: the Women’s Film Preservation Fund
Arrested For Life (1923) 16mm, 22min
Amateur filmmaker depicts humorous calamities of a house maid, Nora and her helpful local policeman.
Filmmaker, Angela Murray Gibson
Archive: State Historical Society of North Dakota
Preserved by: Bill Snyder Films, Kino Lorber; North Dakota Humanities Council; the Women’s Film Preservation Fund
Mister E (1959) 16mm, 11:30 min
Amateur domestic black comedy expresses some of the edgier mischief and discontent from women of the 1950s. Wacky, campy and fun.
Filmmaker: Margaret Conneely
Archive: Chicago Film Archives
Preserved by: the Women’s Film Preservation Fund
Thank you to the following archives and preservationists
Academic Film Archive of North America
Bill Snyder Films
Chicago Film Archives
Harvard Film Archive
Kino Lorber
Library of Congress
Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives
Northeast Historic Film
State Historical Society of North Dakota
UCLA Television & Film Archive
Narrated By
Erinn Ruth
Curated by WFPF Co-Chairs
Kirsten Larvick & Erika Yeomans
Program Edited by
WFPF Member Amy Aquilino
The Women’s Film Preservation Fund of New York Women in Film & Television is the only program in the world dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of women in the industry through preserving films made by women. Founded in 1995 by NYWIFT in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), WFPF has preserved around 150 American films, across all genres, in which women have played key creative roles. The WFPF is rewriting the film history books, by saving one moving picture at a time. www.womensfilmpreservationfund.org
New York Women in Film & Television is the preeminent professional association for women in the New York entertainment industry, NYWIFT energizes women by illuminating their achievements, presenting training and professional development programs, awarding scholarships and grants, and providing access to a supportive community of peers. NYWIFT is part of a network of more than 60 women in film organizations worldwide, representing more than 15,000 members. NYWIFT produces over 50 innovative programs and special events annually, including the Muse Awards for Vision and Achievement, which honors women in front of and behind the camera, and Designing Women, which recognizes costume designers, makeup artists and hair stylists in the industry.
