The Amateur Movie Database was developed to learn more about the world of amateur cinema. It assembles information about amateur films, filmmakers and clubs to help:
Films included in the database are winners of amateur movie contests or works that have been identified as significant by archives and historians.
Phase three of the Amateur Movie Database seeks to enhance the understanding of transnational amateur film history. This period saw a widespread growth in amateur film production as both new technologies and the formation of amateur film organizations globally fostered the growth of international amateur film culture. This takes into consideration social and cultural changes happening globally, and the rise of authoritarian governments between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War.
Furthermore, this phase aims to enrich methodologies surrounding research, presentation, and preservation practices of amateur films. Phase three aims to raise public awareness and increase engagement with international amateur film culture through digital humanities projects, curated film exhibitions, and scholarly output.
This project is supported by a partnership development grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and matching support from partner institutions.
University of East Anglia, UK
University of Udine, Italy
Filmoteca de Catalunya, Spain
Ryerson University, Canada
Concordia University, Canada
University of Calgary, Canada
Charles Tepperman, University of Calgary
Masha Salazkina, Concordia University
Dimitrios Latsis, Ryerson University
Keith Johnston, University of East Anglia
Andrea Mariani, University of Udine
Enrique Fibla-Guttierez, Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola
Dan Streible, New York University
Yvonne Zimmermann, University of Marburg
Clara Sanchez-Dehesa, Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola
Paul Frith, University of East Anglia
Simona Schneider, University of Udine
Shannon Gagnon, Ryerson University
Andrew Watts, University of Calgary
The database draws on materials from a variety of digitized, print, and archival sources, especially the Media History Digital Library and the Internet Archive.
The database is structured according to PBCore metadata standards.
Call for contributors: if you have information about a film in the database or would like to contribute to the project contact us at amdb@ucalgary.ca
Charles Tepperman
Department of Communication, Media and Film, University of Calgary
Karan Sheldon, Northeast Historic Film
Dan Streible, New York University
Dwight Swanson, Centre for Home Movies
Nancy Watrous, Chicago Film Archives
Clara Sanchez-Dehesa, Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola
Enrique Fibla Gutiérrez, Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola
Martin L. Johnson, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Dennis J. Duffy, BC Archives, Royal BC Museum [retired]
Molly Rose Steed, University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections
Jack Brighton
Sheena Manabat, MA student, Communication and Media Studies, University of Calgary
Andrew Watts, BA student, Film Studies, University of Calgary
Lucas Anderson, BA student, Film Studies, University of Calgary
Berenice Cancino, MA student, Languages, Literatures and Culture, University of Calgary
Isabel Lara, PhD student, Spanish, University of Calgary
M. Mert Orsler, MA student, Communication and Media Studies, University of Calgary
Jason Reid (Arts IT); John Brosz (Data Visualization lab)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
University of Calgary Faculty of Arts, Calgary Institute for the Humanities, Chicago Film Archives, Northeast Historic Film
Amateur Cinema