From the very beginning of cinema, there have been amateur filmmakers at work. It wasn't until Kodak introduced 16mm film in 1923, however, that amateur moviemaking became a widespread reality, and by the 1950s, over a million Americans had amateur movie cameras. In Amateur Cinema, Charles Tepperman explores the meaning of the amateur in film history and modern visual culture. In the middle decades of the twentieth century the period that saw Hollywood's rise to dominance in the global film industry a movement of amateur filmmakers created an alternative world of small-scale movie production and circulation. Organized amateur moviemaking was a significant phenomenon that gave rise to dozens of clubs and thousands of participants producing experimental, nonfiction, or short-subject narratives. Rooted in an examination of surviving films, this book traces the contexts of advanced" amateur cinema and articulates the broad aesthetic and stylistic tendencies of amateur films.

About the Author
Charles Tepperman is Assistant Professor of Film Studies at the University of Calgary.

Reviews
"Thoughtful, thoroughly researched ... clear and accessible ... This book contributes significantly to the growing literature on non-theatrical cinema and enriches understanding of film history more generally." -- D. Herbert CHOICE "A very welcome, and much needed, addition to this literature.' The Moving Image



Book Information
ISBN 9780520279858
Author Charles Tepperman
Format Hardback
Page Count 376
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 635g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 28mm