Some of the records in our database link to videos that you can watch. Click on the films below.
"Dear Little Lightbird was entered as an experimental film by Leland Auslender, who also won one of the four top awards in the Class C category. He has a way with color, light and angles, and this talent easily put his film in the Top Ten. It's a story of a little boy born with an incurable disease, and how his three years of life brought into focus all the wonders of nature and this world around us. Perhaps this 18-minute film could be shortened somewhat, but it doesn't seem to matter for the film surrounds you with unusual shots of the simple things most of us miss in the helter-skelter of everyday life" PSA Journal, Oct. 1968, 49.
Watch: via YouTube
"Structured around a hunting trip to Maine made by Archie Stewart and Howard Kendall. The two men travel to Perry, Maine, from New York state by train, then drive a car to a lake where they transfer their luggage to a motor boat on Grand Lake Stream and ride through heavy fog on rough water to West Grand Lake. They then carry a canoe to Lower Sysladobsis Lake, load the canoe with their rifles and supplies, and paddle off. After reaching their camp along the lake's shore, they check their rifles and eat before hunting." oldfilm.org
Watch: Via Northeast Historic Film
"In July 1956, the five-member Barstow family of Wethersfield, Connecticut, won a free trip to newly-opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in a nationwide contest. This 30-minute amateur documentary film tells the fabulous story of their fun-filled, dream-come-true, family travel adventure, filmed on the scene at Walt Disney's 'Magic Kingdom' by Robbins Barstow." Archive.org
Watch: via Archive.org
"An amateur documentary film about the arrival of a Chinese-Vietnamese family to Deerfield by way of a refuge camp in Hong Kong. The Zion Lutheran Church of Deerfield sponsored the family’s arrival." Chicago Film Archives
Watch: chicagofilmarchives.org
"Loosely scripted film in which people at play in a park are interrupted by an authority figure who prevents them from enjoying themselves. The actors include many friend of the filmmakers, such as artists Michael Morris, Robert DiCastro and Sally Gregson. Images on negative stock are incorporated into the film" (Duffy, 94).
Watch: via Karl Spreitz and Collaborators Archival Film Collection, with remixed sound
"Describes locking devices and other means by which citizens can protect their homes. Emphasizes protection and prevention, and shows consequences of failure to provide security for homes." via WorldCat.
Watch: Video Upload via Archive.org
"This amateur film produced by longtime Austin residents Ramon and Pauline Galindo, features Ramon performing illusions with alcohol. As Ramon proceeds to get drunk, the illusions become more compelling" Texas Archive of the Moving Image.
The Drunk Act was produced at some time in the 1950s.
Watch: via Texas Archive of the Moving Image
An elderly couple visits the beach, where they observe young people engaged in sports and romance. These sights prompt the couple to reflect on the story of how they met at the same beach in their younger years.
Watch: via the G.R.A.M.C. Film Library
"This extraordinary silent 16mm home movie was shot by Dr. Harold L. Thompson, and shows the eruption of the Paricutin volcano. It likely dates towards the end of the volcanic eruption in the early 1950s." Periscope Film.
Watch: via Periscope Film (YouTube)
La película realiza un recorrido desde Bermeo hasta Gernika. Se trata de un viaje que va desde el puerto pesquero de Bermeo, hasta el Árbol de Gernika, a lo largo de la actual Reserva de Urdaibai.
The film depicts a route travel from Bermeo to Guernica. It's a trip that goes from the fishing port in Bermeo, to the Guernica Tree, crossing through the Urdaibai Reserve.
Watch: Via Filmoteca Vasca
Film de animación que cuenta la anécdota de un caballero que tiene un encuentro casual cuando se dirige a las Cruzadas.
Animated film that tells the story of a knight that has a casual encounter as he travels to the Crusades.
Watch: Via Miguel Ángel Quintana's Vimeo Channel
The filmmaker's wry memoir, using many of his own films shot from 1936 onward and new footage. The title refers to his date of birth, April 21, 1916. Winner of a “Ten-Best Contest” in1979, EPH 4/27/16 is an autobiographical piece that mixes photo-montage with home-movie footage, narrated by Horowitz and rich with his comical musings on life and change, past and present.
Watch: The movie on Fandor.com (2016)
Cortometraje documental sobre la costa vizcaína que hace un recorrido desde la playa de Ereaga hasta el Cabo Matxitxako. En la película se pueden ver imágenes del Puerto de Bilbao y de las playas de Ereaga, Arrigunaga, Azkorri y Sopelana. También se aprecian las localidades vizcaínas de Barrika, Plencia, Gorliz, Armintza, Bakio y San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.
Documentary short about the Biscayne Bay that depicts a tour from the Ereaga beach to Cape Matxitxako. The film shows images of the Bilbao Port and the beaches in Ereaga, Arrigunaga, Azkorri and Sopelana. Local Biscayne places are also seen: Barrika, Plencia, Gorliz, Armintza, Bakio and San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.
Watch: Via Filmoteca Vasca
Profunda reflexión sobre la Patria. Refleja la visión del ambiente rural de Euskal Herria a través de tomas de personajes populares como los bertsolaris Valentin Enbeitia y Jon Lopategi y el bailarín Victor Olaeta. Por razones de censura la película pasó a llamarse Erria (El Pueblo)
A profound reflection about the Homeland. Reflects the perspective of the rurality in Euskal Herria, through shots of popular characters such as the bertsolaris Valentin Enbetia and Jon Lopategi, and the dancer Victor Olaeta. Because of censorship, the name of the film had to be changed to Erria (The Town).
Watch: Video link to Erria/Aberria
El documental muestra el ciclo vital de la oruga procesionaria del pino (Thaumetopoea Pityocampa), abundante en bosques de pinos de Europa del Sur y América del Sur y considerada como el insecto defoliador más importante de los pinares españoles.
The documentary shows the life cycle of the pine processionary caterpillar (Thaumetopoea Pityocampa), abundant in Southern European and South American forests, considered as the most important defoliating insect of the Spanish pine forests.
Watch: Via Miguel Ángel Quintana's Vimeo Channel
"H. Lee Hansen visits Holland, England (London), France (Paris), and Switzerland (Zurich) and captures scenes of daily life in post-war Europe." UC San Diego Library.
Watch: via UC San Diego Library
"Hansen begins his tour through Europe at Greece. He spends most of his time in Greece traveling through Athens, juxtaposing the Classic Greek architecture to modern life." UC San Diego Library.
Watch: via UC San Diego Library
"General scenes in Spain, including farming and city life. There is a long section of a bull fight (Madrid)." UC San Diego Library.
Watch: via UC San Diego Library
"An exceptional portrayal of the world's creation, from a barren landscape to the emergence of the Woman and the Serpent, ending with Society as we know it. The film is technically unsurpassed in plasticine animation." Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre.
Watch: via YouTube
"Film depicting the 1755 Expulsion of the Acadians from Grand Pre, Nova Scotia. Silent footage interspersed with written text. Scenes show the Grand Pre Church and various shots of farm life. An actress portrays Evangeline." Nova Scotia Archives.
Watch: via Nova Scotia Archives (YouTube)
"Barstow created this depiction of the Hudson Guild, a community center in Manhattan's Chelsea District, while a "Boys' Group Worker" at the Hudson Guild Neighborhood House." Via Vimeo upload.
Watch: Vimeo upload of the film
"This film captures scenes of men in El Paso posing, walking, climbing, performing fake fights, and acting out humorous scenes while the man behind the camera experiments with effects and film speed. The outcome is an entertaining film full of interesting visuals" Texas Archive of the Moving Image.
Watch: via Texas Archive of the Moving Image
"On methods and devices used to make correctly exposed pictures. Explains use of photo-electric cell exposure meters." National Archives.
Watch: via National Archives
"In December 2006, scientific researchers announced that a species of dolphin which had existed for millions of years in the Yangtze River in China had become extinct. This documentary includes scenes of the last living, captive specimen of the Chinese River Dolphin, filmed in Wuhan, China, on a 1985 trip by Dr. Robbins Barstow, of Wethersfield, Connecticut, USA." Archive.org
Watch: via A/V Geeks (Archive.org)
"2 part edited footage of a road trip along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the border of Mexico. Includes much natural scenery, often from a moving car, but also documents visits to the Tabasco factory and two ranches. A woman also evokes the Longfellow poem, Evangeline, by taking a wistful walk." Chicago Film Archives
Watch: chicagofilmarchives.org
"2 part edited footage of a road trip along the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the border of Mexico. Includes much natural scenery, often from a moving car, but also documents visits to the Tabasco factory and two ranches. A woman also evokes the Longfellow poem, Evangeline, by taking a wistful walk." Chicago Film Archives
Watch: chicagofilmarchives.org
"Amateur drama of a girl's dreams inspired by a Mother Goose book." Center for Home Movies.
Watch: via Archive.org
"Animated film made by four boys from St. Thomas of Canterbury grade school. "February 31st" is a colorful animation of fruit that comes to life as the sun rises on that mythical date." Chicago Film Archives
Watch: chicagofilmarchives.org
"Una historia sobre el acoso sufrido por la juventud por parte del mundo de los adultos. La posición alternativa del grupo [de realizadores] se hacía explícita desde las primeras tomas, en donde los créditos aparecían escritos en las paredes de una casa en ruinas, omitiendo los apellidos y dejando solo los nombres de pila de quienes participaron" (Vázquez Mantecón, 2012).
"A story about the harassment suffered by the youth from the adult world. The alternative position of the group [of filmmakers] was made evident from the first shots, where credits appeared written on the walls of a house in ruins, omitting last names and leaving only the first names of the participants" (Vázquez Mantecón, 2012).
Watch: Via Sergio García Michel's Youtube channel.
"Members of the BC Mountaineering Club fly from Jericho Beach, Vancouver, in a Sikorsky S-38 amphibian (Canadian Airways, registration CF-ASO), and land on Garibaldi Lake. Most of the footage depicts the members climbing Mount Garibaldi and resting at the summit. Returning to the lake, they board the amphibian and fly back to Jericho Beach" British Columbia Archives.
Watch: Excerpt via Royal B.C. Museum, YouTube
Total Pages: 9
Amateur Cinema