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A one-day digitization event to preserve moving-image-related resources related to the history of Denton, Texas, which was a vibrant commercial and amateur film community in the early to mid-20th century. Free, online access to the digitized material would be available via the Portal to Texas History. Public programming at venues across the state would be developed in collaboration with the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI). Through public screenings and discussion events, an exhibit on Texas media history, and the Web portal, the project would contextualize the historical materials and prompt audiences to consider the cultural importance of historical preservation, with a special emphasis on home movies and commercial films.

The University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries seek $11,840 to provide access to the rich visual histories of Denton, Texas.  This project will support the digitization of community materials related to the motion picture history of Denton, TX including 40,000 feet of film, 300 hours or videotape, and 1,000 documents. The project will support access and education by providing unrestricted online access to digitized content and public programming that will situate Denton with Texas’s film history.  Denton has a long but unexplored history of commercial and amateur film production dating to 1913 when the city funded a film about their town, Denton: City of Education.  Unfortunately, this history has not been preserved or collected.  By focusing on materials related to our filmic past – home movies, amateur film, advertisements, posters, and photographs – we will illuminate the value of locally created records and redefine how small towns like Denton contributed to film history.