The Texas Archive of the Moving Image is bringing the Texas Film Round-Up, an award-winning program to Laredo. Area residents, organizations, and businesses are invited to drop off their collection of films and videotapes for the free digitization program at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, located at 11210 East Point Dr., Laredo, TX 78045, on Thursday, July 25th between 12:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m, followed by a free community screening at 7:30 p.m.; and at The Villa Antigua® Border Heritage Museum, located at 810 Zaragoza St., Laredo, TX 78040, on Friday, July 26th between 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, July 27th between 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Through a partnership with the Texas Film Commission, the Texas Film Round-Up provides free digitization for films and videotapes, including local commercials, home movies, industrial films, and educational documentaries to preserve Texas media heritage. To qualify for free digitization, the films and videos must be Texas related, and participants must be willing to donate a digital copy of their materials to the project. The materials will be digitized in Austin, Texas and returned by mail to the owners, along with a digital copy.
The first Texas Film Round-Up was held in Austin in 2009. Since its launch, the Texas Archive of the Moving Image has hosted more than 30 Round-Ups, trekking more than 16,000 miles across the Lone Star State, and collecting more than 40TB of digital video. The Archive’s ever-expanding, curated collection is available to view free-of-charge at www.texasarchive.org.
“Old films and videos are time capsules of stories, maybe not enjoyed in decades. We are excited to travel to Laredo and see what unique stories will be discovered in South Texas,” said the Texas Archive of the Moving Image’s Executive Director, Dr. Caroline Frick. “The story of Texas is as deep as it is wide. By adding discoveries Laredo and Nuevo Laredo to the archive, we are creating a new Lone Star history of the 20th and 21st centuries. It shows us who Texas was and will be.”
The Texas Film Round-Up is open to the public. Free parking is available on site. Attendees will also have the opportunity to learn about how to preserve their films and videotapes, and view highlights from Texas films across the decades. Thursday’s free screening will highlight short films with South Texas connections, from contemporary stories to archival footage as far back as the 1920s. The Round-Up and screening are presented in partnership with the Webb County Heritage Foundation, the Laredo Film Society, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, and the Texas Film Commission.
The Texas Archive of the Moving Image is an independent non-profit organization founded in 2002 to discover, preserve, make accessible, and serve community interest in Texas’ moving image heritage. The Texas Film Round-Up received the American Association for State and Local History’s Leadership in History Award of Merit and its prestigious WOW! Award in 2010. By partnering with institutions and individuals across the state, the Texas Archive of the Moving Image digitizes and provides web access to thousands of moving images that offer insight into Texas history and culture. To learn more, visit www.texasarchive.org.