Moving Pictures: Exploring the Life and Legacy of Minnesota's Greatest Generation

• October 8, Noon-5 p.m.
• Minnesota History Center, St. Paul
• Legacy Forum: $14, $10 for MHS members
  • Reservations required, call 651-296-6126
• Film Festival FREE!

The Society's Minnesota's Greatest Generation "Moving Pictures" film project will culminate with a Film Festival and Legacy Forum presentation on October 8 at the Minnesota History Center.

The Greatest Generation was the first to be introduced to a popular youth culture of comics and feature films. It was the first generation to go to the movies together, as an escape from the scarcity of the 1930s.

Join us on Sunday October 8 as we premiere short films produced by amateur and professional filmmakers exploring the life and legacy of Minnesota's Greatest Generation. All films will be screened and winners of awards totaling $10,000 in five categories will be announced in a program beginning at 3 p.m. A special Legacy Forum titled "The Greatest Generation Grows Up," presented by University of Maryland Baltimore County professor and author Kriste Lindenmeyer, will take place at 1 p.m.

The day's activities also include an informational workshop on how to produce a short film using technology readily available on home computers and a History HiJinx activity for children. The sites and sounds of the 1930s and '40s will be on display through clips of archival films from the era, classic cars, music, and fashions from noon to 5 p.m. The film screening and award presentation are free. Other activities are included in the History Center's admission. Cost for the Legacy Forum is $14, $10 for Society members. 

"Moving Pictures" is presented in conjunction with the Society's on-going Minnesota's Greatest Generation project, which looks at the generation that grew up in the 1930s, came of age during World War II and participated in the post-war boom years, and how events at home and abroad affected the lives of all Minnesotans.

Registered filmmakers who submit a film by the September 15 deadline will receive a block of tickets to the 3 p.m. Awards Program. A brief Q&A with award recipients will follow each of the five winning films. There will be a reception for filmmakers after the awards. An exact schedule of films and tickets to the Awards Program will be available October 1.

Awards to be made:

• Best films by an emerging filmmaker: $1,000
• Best collaborative effort: $1,000
• Best exploration of an intergenerational legacy: $1,000
• Best depiction of the Generation as adolescents in the 1930s: $2,500
• Best film: $5,000

Later in October and November, the Minnesota Historical Society will host five special screenings of select films statewide.

"Crowd outside RKO Orpheum, Minneapolis, for premiere of film 'Sister Kenny,'" 1946
Image courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society Collections, Location no. N2.3 p145, Negative no. 60881. For more images of Minnesota's Greatest Generation, visit the Photo and Art Database.