Broadening Our National Film Heritage

The following is a guest post by Daniel Mauro, NAVCC Curator, Library of Congress.

Every year, excitement builds in the leadup to the announcement of the newest selections for the National Film Registry. Will your favorite film make the list this year? Will there be a new discovery you hadn’t heard of before? We’re only about two weeks away from the announcement of the 2025 additions to the registry. Last year, selections included the popular feature films “No Country for Old Men” (2007), “Dirty Dancing” (1987), and “Beverly Hills Cop” (1984), as well as the independent production “Ganja and Hess” (1973), a collection of six student films from Zora Lathan (1975–1976), and an early experiment from the dawn of cinema, “Annabelle Serpentine Dance” (1895). Across these and the 900 titles that currently comprise the National Film Registry, the registry not only recognizes the significant cultural, historical, or aesthetic contributions particular films have made to American culture but also raises awareness about the importance of preserving the wide range of moving images that constitute the nation’s film heritage.

By recognizing student productions and early film experiments alongside well-known feature films of all genres, the registry casts an expansive net around American film heritage. Over the years, selections have also included home movies, amateur films, actualities, animation, experimental films, itinerant productions, industrial films, and more. Many of these types of films may not find a wide audience, as they do not necessarily receive typical theatrical or streaming distribution like feature films. Some, such as home movies, are often made with only a small audience in mind. But to capture a holistic picture of American film heritage, the registry highlights the many corners of filmmaking activity and creativity across the country, from local to national, rural to urban, coast to coast, small gauge to full frame.

Here, we take a look at a few of the home movies and amateur films added to the registry that expand the boundaries of our film heritage.

“Zapruder Film” (1963, added to the National Film Registry in 1994)

Few films have been as closely examined and debated as Abraham Zapruder’s footage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. An amateur photographer, Zapruder climbed a concrete barrier to get a better view of President Kennedy’s motorcade in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963, and film the event with his 8 mm Bell & Howell Zoomatic movie camera. He ended up capturing the fatal moment that has since been etched into the collective memory of Americans for generations. Zapruder’s film not only captured a horrific moment in history but also became a subject of history, itself. Its significance to American history was recognized as it was the first amateur-made footage selected for the National Film Registry.

“Topaz” (1943–1945, added to the National Film Registry in 1996)

“Topaz” is a collection of home movies filmed by Dave Tatsuno at the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah, where he was one of thousands of Japanese Americans forcibly detained during World War II. Tatsuno filmed daily life using an 8 mm camera smuggled into the camp. A total of nine reels of Kodachrome film that amounts to approximately 48 minutes, “Topaz” is the only color footage of life in the camp, offering an unlikely perspective into incarcerated life for Japanese American families not represented in official newsreels or commercial films during the war. Its selection to the registry emphasizes the historical agency of individuals like Tatsuno and marks a fraught period of wartime history.

“Think of Me First as a Person” (1960–1975, added to the National Film Registry in 2006)

A very personal portrait, “Think of Me First as a Person” is a home movie in the truest sense, comprised of footage shot at home by Dwight Core Sr., following his son, Dwight Core Jr. over the course of fifteen years. Core Jr., notably, had Down syndrome. The footage was edited years later into a completed form by Core Sr.’s grandson, George Ingmire. The film warmly illustrates a story of disability and childhood over a long period of time, unlike any comparable work of fiction. Its addition to the registry acknowledges craft, creativity, and the personal nature of making movies with and about family.

“Disneyland Dream” (1956, added to the National Film Registry in 2008)

“Disneyland Dream” is one of many films made by amateur filmmaker Robbins Barstow. Throughout much of his life, Barstow was an active member of amateur filmmaking and home moviemaking communities and organizations, including the Amateur Cinema League. While many American families may have their own versions of home movies from a trip to Disneyland, Barstow’s is notable for its techniques and history. Its use of sight gags and narrative high jinks show a careful sense of editing. Further, the film also shows Disneyland during the first year of its opening, from 1955 to 1956. An added bonus, eagle-eyed viewers may spot a cameo by a young, then-unknown Steve Martin, the comedian and actor who once worked at Disneyland.

“Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies” (1930s–1940s, added to the National Film Registry in 2011)

A collection of home movies from the famous dancing duo Fayard and Harold Nicholas, these reels show the personal lives of the eponymous entertainers on and offstage. While the Nicholas Brothers were already represented on the registry—as they appeared in the musical “Stormy Weather” (1943), selected for the registry in 2001—their home movies offer views both ordinary and extraordinary into the lives of two dynamic performers at a unique time. The Nicholas Brothers rose to stardom during the Harlem Renaissance, and their home movies reflect the arts of this movement. The collection includes the only footage filmed inside the Cotton Club, recordings of Broadway shows such as “Babes in Arms,” and daily life for Black performers in Harlem in the 1930s.

“Fuentes Family Home Movies Collection” (1920s–1930s, added to the National Film Registry in 2017)

Some of the earliest known filmic records of Mexican American life in Texas, the “Fuentes Family Home Movies Collection” is a collection of films from Antonio Rodríguez Fuentes and Josefina Barrera Fuentes in early-twentieth century Corpus Christi, Texas. Shot on 9.5 mm black and white film, these home movies capture everyday scenes, including holidays, parades, and family life on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The family traveled back and forth between Texas and Mexico, illustrating their experiences with immigration, their local communities, and the unique convergence of cultures in the Southwest region.

The above are just a small sampling of the many home movies, amateur films, and other types of uniquely nontheatrical media that can be found on the National Film Registry. With each new addition, the registry expands how we trace our national film heritage, recognizing films that illustrate the changing histories, communities, and creative activities across the country, over decades of time. The registry recognizes both collective experiences and individual stories, told by communities big and small, in major studios and in living rooms.

Have you seen any of the above films or other home movies or amateur films on the registry? Is there one you connect with the most? We’ve taken a closer look at another film, “Our Day” (1938, added to the National Film Registry in 2007) here on this blog. Some selections on the registry can also be viewed through the Library’s National Screening Room. You can learn more about the above—including the film pictured at the top—and hundreds of other National Film Registry titles on this page with descriptions and essays.

For more information related to this blog or any Library of Congress holdings, please see Ask a Librarian, and if you plan to come in to view or listen to any collection items, please reach out to our reference staff in the Moving Image Research Center and the Recorded Sound Research Center.