User Reviews

masterful editing and a plethora of stock has made this a unique and thoroughly enjoyable documentary. The writer/director takes us into the history and expanse of home movies, and the impact that they have on all of us.

If you're older then 30, the sound of those old 8mm projectors is an instant ambient soundtrack for Karen Hopsowitz's wonderfully nostalgic but sharp focused documentary My Father's Camera.

Shopsowitz moves effortlessly between the memories of her family, lovingly captured by her father's camera, and the context and relevancy of home movies to us today. This difficult transition is a testament to Shopwsowitz's inspired touch and sensitive eye. I couldn't but help transporting between what I was seeing on the screen and my own memories of grainy home movie shot when I was 8 years old. My own bitter sweet sensation of watching, 30 years later, my mom in her youth and me as a very young boy.

Shopsowitz transcends the sentimental and presents us with a clear view of the far reaching impact the home movie camera continues to have on our culture. Think reality TV and you'll see the power of our desire for something as `real' and as immediate as what our dads and now ourselves are shooting with digital cameras.