Join USC Libraries’ Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC) and the Nickelodeon Theatre for Columbia’s National Home Movie Day 2014 event. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 18th, members of the community are invited to attend the free, family-friendly screening at the Nick, located downtown at 1607 Main Street. Refreshments will be available and prizes will be awarded.

Home Movie Day is a worldwide celebration of amateur films and filmmaking, held annually in October. The event provides an opportunity for attendees to bring in their own movies for inspection, learn how to care for films and videotapes, discuss how home movies capture history, and actually see films and videos from their local community. So pull out those VHS tapes or film reels of babies and puppies, birthdays, vacations, and holidays past, and see them up on the big screen.

MIRC staff will be on hand throughout the day to inspect films and discuss home movie preservation. Film cameras, projectors and equipment will also be on display.

Visitors are encouraged to bring in items for inspection on the 18th, but anyone wishing to have their movie presented in the program must submit it to MIRC for transfer no later than Friday, October 3rd. Media formats include 16mm film and VHS tapes. We are also pleased to announce that starting this year, MIRC will be able to accept 8mm and Super 8 films for transfer as well.

Home movies from the MIRC collections will play from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and attendees are welcome to walk in and join the festivities at any point. An official program of films submitted by community members will begin at 12:15 p.m. Door prizes for attendees will be drawn during a brief intermission after the program, and audience awards will be announced at 1:45 p.m. The prize-winning movie will be preserved at MIRC and screened in its entirety at next year’s event.

MIRC will accept the first five film or VHS submissions to screen on October 18th, and participants will receive one free DVD transfer of their film or video. For longer submissions, MIRC staff may select brief clips for public screening. MIRC will also welcome up to ten digital submissions until the October 3rd deadline. Maximum run time for digital videos is three minutes. Email MIRC at MIRC@mailbox.sc.edu for more information about electronic submissions.

For more information about Home Movie Day in Columbia, contact Amy Ciesielski, MIRC curator, at ciesiel@mailbox.sc.edu or 803-777-2271.