IUL Moving Image Archive

IU Libraries is thrilled to announce undergraduate student in The Media School, GRACIE RUNGE, as the FIRST PLACE WINNER of the 2026 Safer Together : An Archival Remix Contest! Gracie's winning video, "Healthy Habits Help Hoosiers," can be viewed on Media Collections Online! Three runner-up videos were also awarded! View Bruno Dariva's "Community Health Is In Our Hands," Yashna Reddy Pandugala's "Small Step. Bigger Impact," and Chris Remetta's "Wash Your Hands" ! For details on the contest, as well as links to view the winner and runners-up, go to libraries.indiana.edu/safer-together (link in bio).

NEXT THURSDAY, APRIL 30 @ 5:30pm! Join us for a free monthly screening of rare shorts from the Moving Image Archive and Lilly Library! Curated by DOMINICK RIVERS, @floralcowstudios , experimental moving image artist & musician! Each month, rare and unique archival films are presented focusing on underrepresented narratives and underrepresented motion-picture practices that push on and expand the spectrum of what is considered “cinema.” This month's theme : meditations 🎥Candleflame (1971, Dir. József Gujdár, 7 min, 16mm, IULMIA) 🎥Music of the Spheres (1977, Dir. Jordan Belson, 10 min, 16mm, IULMIA) 🎥H2O (1929, Dir. Ralph Steiner, 11 min, 16mm, Lilly Library) 🎥Day Dreams for Christmas (1956, Dir. David Bradley, 5 min, 16mm, Lilly Library) 🎥A Time for Sun (1971, Prod. Warren Brown, 6 min, 16mm, IULMIA) 🎥Flying Seeds (date unknown, Prod. Sterling Viking, 11 min, 16mm, IULMIA) Register here : /2fcztz2c #film #16mm #filmarchive #libraries #iu #bloomingtonindiana #experimentalfilm #educationalfilm #documentary #iulmia #wellslibrary

NEXT THURSDAY, MARCH 26 @ 5:30pm! Join IULMIA and @black_film_center_archive for a free monthly screening of rare shorts our collections! Curated by ESSENCE LONDON, writer, cross-genre artist, and Publications & Programming Associate at the Black Film Center & Archive! Each month, rare and unique archival films will be presented focusing on underrepresented narratives and underrepresented motion-picture practices that push on and expand the spectrum of what is considered “cinema.” This month's theme : Home Movies 🎥Mimi 1967 (1967, 4:32, Edward & Naomi Feil Collection, IULMIA) 🎥Kenny - June 14, 1969 (1969, 2:57, Edward & Naomi Feil Collection, IULMIA) 🎥Michelle Materre Home Movies (c. 1955, 8:10, Michelle Materre Collection, BFCA) 🎥Rev. S.S. Jones Home Movies (1924-1928) (c. 1920s, 16:10, selection from Pioneers of African-American Cinema in General Collection, BFCA) 🎥Destroyed Homes, 1937 (1937, 4:39, Bernadine Bailey Collection, IULMIA) 🎥[Bloomington street scenes] (c. 1970s, 6:02, Indiana University Audio-Visual Center Collection, IULMIA)) Register here : /3xszv4v6 #film #16mm #filmarchive #libraries #iu #bloomingtonindiana #experimentalfilm #educationalfilm #documentary #iulmia #wellslibrary #homemovies #blackfilm

Calling all @iubloomington students!! Help make your community safer AND win up to $2,000! Submit a short, compelling video using archival footage that raises awareness about good health practices to support our Hoosier community. Let's be #SaferTogether! Submit by March 31. For full contest details below and link in bio: libraries.indiana.edu/safer-together #indianauniversity #iulibraries #iustudents #bloomington #safety #archives #reuse

This week's feature: BANJO MAN (1977) 🪕 John "Uncle Homer" Walker was an 80-year-old Black banjo player from the New River region of Virginia and West Virginia. BANJO MAN (1977) documents his music, his stories, and his life. In the early 70s, Yale students Joe Vinikow and Reuben Chodosh traveled from Connecticut to rural Virginia with a 16mm camera and tape recorder after hearing folklorist Franklin George mention "an older Black banjo player named Uncle Homer." The film captures an afternoon jam session featuring Uncle Homer and special guest Taj Mahal, who had met Homer at a folk festival. Through songs, stories, and archival photographs, the film reveals a world shaped by worship, labor, and celebration. "Homer's warmth and generosity were boundless," Joe later reflected. "He was a musician and raconteur of uncommon gifts." We recently spoke with filmmaker Joe Vinikow about Homer Walker and the making of this film — swipe to read his words. → 🔗 Streaming now – link in bio | Feb 23 – Mar 1 ✨ Thanks for watching and celebrating with us over these past four weeks. What a month! 🖤 Special thanks to @black_film_center_archive and @iu_aaamc #BanjoMan #HomerWalker #BlackHistoryMonth #AmericanRootsMusic #FilmArchive #16mm #MusicHistory #film #filmarchive #documentary #iulmia #wellslibrary #tajmahal

🎬✨ Black History Month Film Series - Week 3 ✨🎬 This week's feature: YONDER COME DAY (1975) 🎶 How much do you know about Bessie Jones? Born in 1902 on St. Simons Island, Georgia, Jones was the granddaughter of enslaved people. By the 1970s, she was among the last living carriers of spirituals, ring shouts, and work songs passed down directly from slavery — not from books, but from voice to voice. YONDER COME DAY (1975) follows Jones from a classroom at Yale to her porch on St. Simons Island as she shares spirituals, work songs, and stories passed down through generations. Her mission: to preserve and pass on this cultural inheritance to young people, both Black and white. Through her voice and presence, the film honors music as living history—an archive of survival, remembrance, and continuity. Narrated by Willie Ruff, the Yale music professor and jazz bassist who invited Jones to campus, the film captures a powerful exchange between tradition and institution, memory and future. 🔗 Stream now (link in bio) | Feb 16 - Feb 22 Thanks to @black_film_center_archive and @iu_aaamc 🖤 #film #16mm #filmarchive #libraries #iu #bloomingtonindiana #educationalfilm #documentary #iulmia #wellslibrary #blackhistorymonth #bessiejones #georgiaislandsingers #willieruff #folkmusic

🎬✨ Black History Month Film Series - Week 2 ✨🎬 This week's feature: THE BLUES (1973) 🎸 Musicologist Samuel Charters and photographer Ann Charters traveled through the rural South documenting legendary blues musicians—J.D. Short, Pink Anderson, Furry Lewis, Baby Tate, Memphis Willie B., Gus Cannon, and Sleepy John Estes. Filmed with quiet respect, this intimate documentary captures musicians in their homes and communities— revealing how the blues transforms isolation into connection through song. Though Charters's accompanying album gained recognition, the film itself remained a rarely seen gem of blues history. 🔗 Stream now (link in bio)! Feb 9 - Feb 15 Special thanks to @black_film_center_archive and @iu_aaamc for inspiring this series. 🖤 #film #16mm #filmarchive #libraries #iu #bloomingtonindiana #experimentalfilm #educationalfilm #documentary #iulmia #wellslibrary #blackhistorymonth

🎬✨ Black History Month Film Series - Week 1 ✨🎬 This February, we're celebrating Black voices, communities, and lived experiences through rare archival films you won't see anywhere else. Each week in February, we're spotlighting a different rare archival film—streaming on Media Collections Online. This week's feature: TIME OF THE HORN (1964) 🎺 Time of the Horn (by Russell Merritt, made while he was a student at Northwestern) is a dialogue-free experimental film inspired by classic silent cinema, following a young Black boy who discovers a discarded trumpet and drifts into a dreamlike jazz fantasy. Set to Duke Ellington’s music performed by trumpeter Jonah Jones, the film explores imagination, aspiration, and the transformative power of art. 🎺✨ 🔗 Stream now (link in bio)! Feb 2 - Feb 8 Special thanks to @black_film_center_archive and @iu_aaamc for inspiring this series focusing on Black music—music of the soul, body, and heart. 🖤 #film #16mm #filmarchive #libraries #iu #bloomingtonindiana #experimentalfilm #educationalfilm #documentary #iulmia #wellslibrary #blackhistorymonth

NEXT THURSDAY, JANUARY 29 @ 5:30pm! Join us for a free monthly screening of rare shorts from the Moving Image Archive! Curated by MOLLY LAMB, Lead Film Operator at Memnon Archiving Services! Each month, rare and unique archival films will be presented focusing on underrepresented narratives and underrepresented motion-picture practices that push on and expand the spectrum of what is considered “cinema.” This month's theme : An Exploration in Animation 🎥Eine Linie ist eine Linie ist eine Linie (1971, Dir. Urs Graf, 5 min, 16mm) 🎥Mini-Animators: A Look at the Carroll Gardens Cinema Gang (1976, Dir. Ermelinda Mannetta & Phil Williamston, 8 min, 16mm) 🎥Little Dutch Mill (1934, Dir. Dave Fleischer, 9 min, 16mm) 🎥A Little Phantasy on a Nineteenth Century Painting (1946, Dir. Norman McLaren, 4 min, 16mm) 🎥Neighbors (1952, Dir. Norman McLaren, 8 min, 16mm) 🎥Die Pistole (1963, Dir. Wolfgang Urchs, 11 min, 16mm) 🎥Harpya (1979, Dir. Raoul Servais, 5 min, 16mm) Register here : /45a88txp #film #16mm #filmarchive #libraries #iu #bloomingtonindiana #animation #experimentalfilm #educationalfilm #documentary #iulia #wellslibrary #animatedfilm

Special screening at The Blockhouse Bar! NEXT THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18 @ 7pm! For the past four years, the IU Libraries Moving Image Archive has hosted a regular screening series showcasing rare archival shorts that highlight underrepresented narratives and experimental motion-picture practices—works that expand the very idea of what “cinema” can be. We’ve screened more than 100 films, almost all on 16mm! Join us at The Blockhouse for our first-ever BEST OF You (Probably) Haven’t Seen This Before featuring a selection of our favorite picks from over the years. 🎥Sole Mani (1989, Dir. Horst Schier, 4 min, 16mm) 🎥Notes on a Triangle (1961, Dir. René Jodoin, 5 min, 16mm) 🎥Radio Dynamics (1942, Dir. Oskar Fischinger, 4min, 16mm) 🎥Gravel Springs Fife and Drum (1971, Dir. Bill Ferris, David Evans, Judy Peiser, 10 min, 16mm) 🎥End of an Old Song (1962, Dir. John Cohen, 24 min, 16mm) 🎥The Ballad of Crowfoot (1968, Dir. Willie Dunn, 11 min, 16mm) 🎥Kelly (1976, Prod. WGBH-TV Boston, 9 min, 16mm) 🎥Time of the Horn (1964, Dir. Russell Merritt, 7 min, 16mm) 🎥Aquarium (1978, Filmmaker Bob Gronowski, 10 min, 16mm) 🎥Heinz: Salads (1977, advertisement, 1 min, 16mm) #film #16mm #filmarchive #libraries #iu #bloomingtonindiana #experimentalfilm #educationalfilm #documentary #iulia #wellslibrary

Friday, October 10 is World Mental Health Day! Since that day is Fall Break here at IU, we are making our World Mental Health Day post a little early and encouraging you to take care of your mental health on the actual day by taking a break from social media (if you want to). We are celebrating by sharing the 2025 winner of "Safer Together: An Archival Remix Contest," a donor-funded contest from @iulmovingimagearchive . In response to the alarming number of IUB students who experience mental health issues, participants were invited to create a short, compelling video using archival footage to raise awareness about the importance of mental health. Our 2025 winner, @iuluddy student Deo Akiode, created the video "Recognize and Refer" which we present here. For more information on the contest and links to the runners-up, go to libraries.indiana.edu/safer-together (or find the link in bio).

One more screening before Fall! NEXT THURSDAY, MAY 22 @ 5:30pm! Join us for a free monthly screening of rare short films from the Moving Image Archive! Each month, rare and unique archival films will be presented focusing on underrepresented narratives and underrepresented motion-picture practices that push on and expand the spectrum of what is considered “cinema.” This month's theme : you do your thing! 🎥 Mr. Tri State (1973, Dir. Tom Palazzolo, 12 min, 16mm) 🎥 Walter (1973, Dir. Jay M. Steinberg, 16 min, 16mm) 🎥 Sleeping Bears (1986, Dir. Paulle Clark, 7 min, 16mm) 🎥 Stand Ups (1977, Dir. Arthur Drooker & Richard Zanetti, 20 min, 16mm) Register here : /3rw7hdf4 #film #16mm #filmarchive #libraries #iu #bloomingtonindiana #experimentalfilm #educationalfilm #documentary #iulmia #wellslibrary