Ken Burns Wants YOUR Home Movies

Posted by Jeff Wetherington Mar 29, 2007

Renowned film maker Ken Burns, whose works include The Civil War, Jazz, Baseball and Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as 12 other film documentaries, is in the process of producing and directing a major documentary series entitled "The National Parks" which is scheduled to premiere on PBS stations in the fall of 2009. As in his past productions, Burns will be using archival film records to make his documentary less of a nature or travelogue show and more of a truly American experience.

And for that he need your help.

Here is an excerpt from The National Parks Traveler web site, which has details on submissions and what you'll receive (aside from the thrill of seeing your home video in a Ken Burns documentary) if your submission is used;

"...it will tell the very powerful, human story of how the parks came into being and what they have meant to Americans for more than a hundred years. It will be filled with major historical figures - from John Muir to Theodore Roosevelt to Ansel Adams - but it will also tell the stories of many lesser-known Americans, from cowboys to immigrant artists, wealthy philanthropists to dirt-poor farmers who turned their passion for a part of the American landscape into crusades for their permanent protection.

To help them tell this story, they would like to collect home movies of visits to National Parks by families and individuals for possible use in the film. They are looking for home movies from the time period of the 1920s through the 1980s and are most interested in footage of families and tourists in the parks."

The proposed ten hour series will seek to chronicle the human history of five of America's most important and popular National Parks (Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Acadia, and Great Smoky Mountains) as well as the unforgettable Americans who played a role in their existence. Home videos made in these parks and taken between the 1920's and the 1980's will be the most sought after films.

This is your chance to be a part of a great documentary series and indeed, a part of what will become a piece of Americana.