San Francisco-based Rick Prelinger follows up last year’s popular Lost Landscapes of Detroit with a focus on the American road trip. The filmmaker and archivist has pulled the most interesting clips from nearly 4,000 rolls of 16mm and 8mm home movie footage from the 1920s to the 1970s to create an American journey that goes from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And though Detroit is not featured, Prelinger says, “You’ll see Las Vegas in the 1950s, the crowded and smokey Rust Belt America that gives way to the open plains and then head into the mountains. And of course there is lots of Route 66.”

One goal of the program, he says, is to open a discussion about whether or not the archetypal road trip still exists. The footage will be shown silent, with Prelinger narrating over some, but mostly encouraging audience members to shout out their own travel stories and observations related to the images, which feature over 100 families eating at rest stops, visiting relatives, feeding black bears, and visiting obscure and iconic tourist attractions.

No More Road Trips? – No passes or special offers apply
Documentary – NR – 80 min – Tickets $10 – Get tickets online
Saturday, March 21 at 8:00 p.m.
Also screening at Detroit Film Theatre at 1:00 p.m.