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The BBC has forwarded the following message about their search for American home movies for a forthcoming series.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is looking for home movies in connection with a major documentary television series it is making on the changing nature of the ‘American Dream’ from the end of the Second World War to the present day. It’s a story of both the vision and reality of the dream. Any home movie footage, either in black and white or color on any format, shot between 1945 and the present day is potentially of interest to us. We are looking forĀ  footage that can illustrate each decade of America’s post-war domestic history. The films can be family home movies or any other kind of amateur film. In order to reflect the vast range of experiences in post-war America we are keen to feature films from a wide variety of locations from across the United States and films that illustrate a wide variety of social and economic backgrounds. The series will cover many aspects of American life since 1945 including: all aspects of family life, life in the suburbs, life in the American South before the civil rights movement; religious activity; the automobile and the open road; Native American lifestyles; African American lifestyles; wealthy American lifestyles, the civil rights movement, and footage that illustrates the lives of women, the counterculture and gay lifestyles. We are also hoping for some surprises, footage that for one reason or another takes our breath away. If you have footage that you think might be of interest to us, no matter how ‘ordinary’ it seems, please contact the executive producer of the series, Peter Molloy, at peter.molloy@bbc.co.uk

NPR’s All Things Considered recently broadcast a story by Phil Nohl of Sheboygan, Wisconsin about his collection of home recordings.

Listen to complete recordings of records that were included in the NPR piece on Phil’s personal website.

Source: Snapshots in Sound

Home Movie Day! Saturday October 17, 2009.

Thanks to Robbins Barstow and George Odell of TFG Film & Tape (both from Wethersfield, CT) for their help in making this!

New Jersey man rediscovers his grandfather’s home movies of the 1934 fire aboard the SS Morro Castle.

What he found, local historians say, is one of the longest known pieces of footage capturing the aftermath of the maritime disaster, among the worst in U.S. history.

“It was immediately obvious what I was looking at,” said Alsberg, 43, recounting the day three years ago he used a newly purchased projector from a surplus store to watch the 10-minute segment. “It was a jaw-dropping moment knowing I had this quasi-historical film.”

Source: NJ.com

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