When David Paperny set out
to document the immigrant history of his grandparents, Judah and Chasia
Shumiatcher, he was overwhelmed with the resources he found. "I knew
that there were a lot of good family photos of my grandparents and
their generation,"Paperny writes in his Director's Diary. "But I asked
around, if, by chance, there was any old movie film. Bingo. Rolls
and rolls of perfectly-preserved 16mm film came flying at me...One
highlight of the project was the joyful response when family members
watched their ancient homemovies that I had transferred to VHS tape.
Judah, for instance, had never once seen the home movie of his own
wedding from 1953!"
How do you collect and
preserve family memories? Are there old boxes in your attic, mildewy
letters, photographs, portraits? Do you make notes in one of those
Baby's First Year albums, or drag your videocam to family
get-togethers?
Tell us about your archival
discoveries or how you preserve your memories for future generations.
When David Paperny set out
to document the immigrant history of his grandparents, Judah and Chasia
Shumiatcher, he was overwhelmed with the resources he found. "I knew
that there were a lot of good family photos of my grandparents and
their generation,"Paperny writes in his Director's Diary. "But I asked
around, if, by chance, there was any old movie film. Bingo. Rolls
and rolls of perfectly-preserved 16mm film came flying at me...One
highlight of the project was the joyful response when family members
watched their ancient homemovies that I had transferred to VHS tape.
Judah, for instance, had never once seen the home movie of his own
wedding from 1953!"