In a vibrant screening room at the Logan Center for the Arts on the University of Chicago campus, visitors are treated to a unique glimpse into the past through the ‘South Side Home Movie Project’ exhibit. Here, images of 20th-century South Side families dance across a screen, showcasing moments that capture the essence of everyday life.
Among the flashes of footage, fathers engage in a diaper-changing contest, a group of teens creates a DIY zombie flick, and a toddler joyfully rides a toy rocking horse on Christmas morning. These home movies are more than mere recordings; they serve as mini time capsules that reflect the familial and communal life of the South Side, spanning nearly a century.
This remarkable undertaking is the brainchild of Jacqueline Stewart, a professor of cinema and media studies at UChicago. Her dedicated efforts in the ‘South Side Home Movie Project’ have resulted in a collection of over 1,200 films, some dating back to the 1930s. Stewart’s fascination with home movies began in 1999 during a film conference known as the Orphan Film Symposium, which focused on the realm of nontheatrical films.
‘As a film scholar, I had not formally learned about home movies or taught them in my classes, yet it was a practice of filmmaking that just seemed really interesting to me,’ Stewart remarked. Her goal was to explore these intimate glimpses into the daily lives of families and communities throughout the 20th century.
Growing up in Hyde Park, Stewart felt a personal connection to the home movies collected in her project. Uniquely, she focuses solely on films shot on actual film stock: 8mm, 16mm, and super 8mm. The South Side Home Movie Project goes beyond mere screenings; it also involves the restoration and digitalization of these aging film reels.
The exhibit is not just about the films themselves; the display includes the vintage cameras used to capture these memories, some nearly 100 years old. Visitors often find themselves captivated by the projectors that bring these silent films to life, sometimes more so than the films themselves. ‘We’ve noticed that when we actually project one of the films on an 8mm or Super 8mm projector, young people are sometimes looking at the projector more than they’re looking at the actual film because it’s such a novelty,’ Stewart noted.
As the home movies in the collection lack audio—being shot before the era of sound recording devices—the Home Movie Project has collaborated with local DJs and musicians to create soundscapes for the films. At a recent visit, an instrumental cover of the Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’ resonated throughout the exhibit space, accompanying images of a lively family gathering.
The aesthetic of the gallery itself adds to the experience, featuring bright colors inspired by Chicago artist and architect Amanda Williams’ ‘Color(ed) Theory’ project. The furniture within the gallery also follows this vibrant scheme, donated by Norman Teague, a local furniture-maker and conceptual artist. Stewart emphasized that the involvement of these prominent Black artists adds a sense of comfort, elegance, and connection to Black design history to the exhibition.
Rashieda Witter, who recently moved to Chicago, expressed her appreciation for the exhibition during her visit. She described the experience as both essential and timely, stating, ‘It’s beautiful. It’s absolutely stunning. I’ve experienced so much nostalgia.’ In a political climate where Black history and narratives face threats of erasure, Witter believes home movies serve as a powerful tool for self-expression.
Witter highlighted a particular film that resonated with her—a documentary by a couple chronicling their daughters’ growth. ‘It’s just beautiful to see the fashion of the time,’ she reflected. ‘They were some fly little kids, so that one definitely caught my attention.’
Viewers are transported back in time when engaging with the films, observing vintage fashion, toys, and cars that offer a window into the lives of those from the 1930s to the 1980s. Stewart ensures that families are able to view their films before they are publicly displayed, leading to priceless reactions as many haven’t seen these films in decades—in some instances, they are viewed for the first time ever.
‘When you show somebody, for the first time in decades, footage of their mother holding them as a baby, these are really touching scenes,’ Stewart observed.
Stewart’s personal connection to the project deepened when she discovered that her own uncle had been a home movie enthusiast. ‘I was surprised to learn that my own uncle, Charles Merrifield, made home movies. I didn’t know that when I started the project,’ she said.
Ultimately, the ‘South Side Home Movie Project’ highlights the importance of preserving and celebrating the rich, layered histories of South Side families, ensuring that their stories are shared and remembered.
image source from：chicago
