Visual Histories: Amateur Film in New Zealand c.1923-1970

<p>Many ordinary New Zealanders made amateur films between c.1923-1970. This thesis explores the types of films they made; home movies, community films and films made by members of amateur cine clubs. The discussion focuses on the making, showing and viewing of each of these types of films. Some were shown in private home or club situations, while other films were shown publicly. As a group of films and film practises they offer a valuable source of information on social and cultural history. Their construction differs from orthodox professional film and offers important alternate views of New Zealand society. The sub-genre of amateur film are numerous. Films discussed include newsreels and scripted narrative drama made by amateur cine club members either working alone or in groups. Others under discussion are local films, political films, mountaineering films, educational, instructional and promotional film. The influences on amateur filmmaking are considered: camera company marketing and amateur film manuals, the international amateur film movement and the competition focused cine club culture. The thesis uses four main collections to discuss aspects of amateur filmmaking. These are the films of James Osler of Wairoa, Frederick Thorn of Waiuta, Amos James Smith of Rangiora and Nancy Cameron of Whanganui, all held at the New Zealand Film Archive, Wellington.</p>

Visual Histories: Amateur Film in New Zealand c.1923-1970

<p>Many ordinary New Zealanders made amateur films between c.1923-1970. This thesis explores the types of films they made; home movies, community films and films made by members of amateur cine clubs. The discussion focuses on the making, showing and viewing of each of these types of films. Some were shown in private home or club situations, while other films were shown publicly. As a group of films and film practises they offer a valuable source of information on social and cultural history. Their construction differs from orthodox professional film and offers important alternate views of New Zealand society. The sub-genre of amateur film are numerous. Films discussed include newsreels and scripted narrative drama made by amateur cine club members either working alone or in groups. Others under discussion are local films, political films, mountaineering films, educational, instructional and promotional film. The influences on amateur filmmaking are considered: camera company marketing and amateur film manuals, the international amateur film movement and the competition focused cine club culture. The thesis uses four main collections to discuss aspects of amateur filmmaking. These are the films of James Osler of Wairoa, Frederick Thorn of Waiuta, Amos James Smith of Rangiora and Nancy Cameron of Whanganui, all held at the New Zealand Film Archive, Wellington.</p>

Evolution of the Russian film festival movement: trends, forms, themes, and genres of children and adult amateur filmmaking in the XX – XXI centuries

The subject of this research of this article is the trends, forms, themes and genres of children and adult amateur filmmaking on the context of development of the national film festival movement. The author traces &nbsp;the evolution of the Russian film festival movement, which is reflected in trends, organizational forms, themes and genres of children, mixed and adult amateur filmmaking in the XX &ndash; XXI centuries. Methodological framework of this research is comprised of the dynamics of formation of the experience of emotional-value perception of the visual image of reality (B. M. Nemensky), content analysis, comparative, genre-thematic, statistical, historical-culturological analysis of the themes and genres of works of amateur filmmaking of the Soviet and post-perestroika periods presented at film festivals. As a result of the conducted research, the author divides the traditional filmmaking into enthusiasts of cinemagorahic art and amateur videographers; outlines the organizational forms and development trends of the Russian film festival movement; highlights the thematic peculiarities of modern amateur filmmakers that consist in the successive, traditional, new and lost themes of children and adult amateur films. The traditional amateur film and modern amateur video genres of screen works are determined. The novelty of this research lies in nontraditional approach, as well as comprehensive analysis of the problem of modern development of the amateur film festival movement. The main conclusions are as follows: 1) the division of traditional amateur filmmaking into two groups: enthusiasts of traditional cinematographic art and amateur videographers &ndash; creation of the works of new and traditional themes is substantiated by sociocultural peculiarities of modern development of the amateur film festival movement; 2) It is noted that the lost thematic groups, such as the Soviet legacy, would be revived in the works of modern authors; 3) there is an important feature in the development of modern amateur videography in the context of film festival movement and establishment of the new genres.

Archivally absent? Female filmmakers in the IFI Irish Film Archive

This paper is an initial exploration of women’s contribution to collections of the IFI Irish Film Archive, specifically in the area of amateur film production. It considers two female-created collections in this sphere of practice, the Currivan and Overend Collections, examining the context in which they were created as well as the nature of the films themselves. This article also examines the reasons why women are underrepresented in film production, specifically the extent to which organisational policies and the gendered nature of leadership and employment effect what material is produced and preserved. It concludes by looking at praxis within the IFI Irish Film Archive collections and asking what measures the Irish Film Institute can adopt to improve women’s representation and visibility in its programmes of exhibition and preservation.