Dozens gather at UW-Milwaukee for first ever 'Home Movie Day'

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Dozens of people gathered at UW-Milwaukee today, on Oct. 15, for the first ever "Home Movie Day".

Members of the community brought old video tapes and film reels of family and friends to share with the community.

They had a chance to ask questions about the films, some of which dated back to the 60's and 70's.

Archivists at the university also gave advice on how to preserve the home movies and talked about the importance of home movies in our culture.

"The thing about home movies is, it's a very specific picture of our history that you don't get from a Hollywood movie," said UW-Milwaukee digital archivist Shiraz Bhathena. You're not looking at a street the way Hollywood wanted you to see it, you're looking at it as it actually existed, you're looking at a historical document of our community."

Archivists advised people in the community to store film in cold and dry places.

They also encouraged the digitization of films and videos to make sure future generations can see them.