On 24 May 2024, the University of St Andrews hosted a workshop that brought together an international array of contributors, with the aim of interrogating the realm of filmstrips.
The 35mm filmstrip, which showed a series of still images often with an accompanying commentary, was one of the most versatile, popular and well-travelled media forms in the mid-20th century. Whether developed by government, industry, or religious groups, for use in schools, churches, or public spaces, the filmstrip represented a low-cost, resilient alternative to portable film and slide projectors and a significant, if ephemeral, precursor to such contemporary digital formats as PowerPoint and TikTok videos.
Over the last two years, the RSE-funded network ‘The Lost World of Filmstrips‘ has sought to relocate filmstrips, both across British archives and within media history. Following previous workshops at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, and the National Archives, London, this third (and final) in-person event brought together archivists and researchers from across the UK and Europe both to reflect on the findings of the network – the rediscovered materials and archival connections – and also to look forward, to imagine and map possible futures for this obsolete media form.
Speakers at the event included Alison Metcalfe (National Library of Scotland), Sharon Maxwell (Museum of English Rural Life), Dr Anke Napp (University of Hamburg), and Matthew Lee (Bill Douglas Cinema Museum).