Michael Holman Family Home Movie #20: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This film is from a collection of home movies filmed by the family of Michael Holman, an important figure in the history of hip hop. It consists of a single reel of 8mm silent acetate film with color (a), an original plastic film reel (b), and an original plastic cover (c)..

The film begins with a panning shot of street life around several unidentified historic structures. Next, another panning shot captures an unidentified coastal town. This is followed by a shot of a tour group with their backs to the camera looking at an unidentified structure; the camera lingers on a young girl faced towards the camera. Several shots of an unidentified ancient site and a shot of men gathered at a cafe follow. The film concludes with a series of shots depicting the Shrine of the Bab, a Baha'i holy site in Haifa, Israel, and its surrounding gardens.

An original white plastic film reel (b) with a brief content note and an original blue plastic film container (c) with Technicolor markings also accompany the film.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1968
• Created by: Pauline Thompson Wood, American, born 1901
• Owned by: Michael Holman, American, born 1955
• Subject of: Baha'i World Centre, founded 1909
• Type: silent films
• Type: home movies
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: Super 8
• Medium: acetate film and plastic
• Dimensions: Duration: 3 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 50 Feet
• Place depicted: Haifa, Northern District, Israel, Middle East, Asia
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Bahá'í faith
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: Travel
• Object number: 2016.31.3.20.1abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Michael Holman Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.