The Gimli Film Festival (GFF) is excited to re-launch the Manitoba Home Movie Archive, through which Manitobans can now register to have their old home movies transferred to digital for free!
This second intake of registration was made possible through Safe at Home Manitoba, and will be available until the end of March 2021. The Archive has also been made possible through funding from The Asper Foundation and The Winnipeg Foundation!
In the spring of last year, GFF launched the Manitoba Home Movie Archive as a fun and free activity for families to engage in during the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Project offered the unique opportunity for Manitobans to have their home movies transferred to digital video files, free of charge! Folks from across Manitoba responded and GFF was able to process dozens of 8mm films, 16mm films and video tape cassettes, some of which had not been viewed by their owners for decades. Now, this program is open to registrations from all Manitobans once again!
“In these incredible and challenging times, GFF is excited to be able to offer this free service to Manitobans,” said GFF Festival Director Aaron Zeghers. “We hope the Manitoba Home Movie Archive will inspire families and friends in isolation together to look through their old home movie archives, and find some materials to send to us to transfer to digital and preserve for future generations.”
The project has already uncovered a number of historically valuable images, including never-before-seen footage of the burning of the St. Boniface Cathedral (1968), and the Royal Visit to Swan River, Manitoba (1970). A small collection of these materials are now available online, with many more to be added in the coming weeks and months.
