Film Mardi Gras (1898) found in the Netherlands in the national film list of the US
Eye Film Museum
NOS News•
Footage of a parade in New Orleans found in the Netherlands has been included in the US National Film Registry. It was made in 1898 Mardi Gras Carnival is the oldest film of the carnival and was included in the collection of the Eye film museum this year.
In the footage, just under two minutes long, a colorful procession with several floats moves through the streets of New Orleans. The footage was found at the Louisiana State Museum for an exhibit on the folk festival in search of its oldest record.
That turned out to be a 68mm film from one of Eye’s oldest collections, the archive of an American newsreel. It had already been preserved in 1998, but then no one realized how unique the statue was. Eye hopes that now that the other approximately 200 films from this archive are being digitized, even more special images will be discovered.
Mardi Grass Carnival shows how lavishly the party has already been celebrated:
The film is included in the National Film Registry because the American Library of Congress considers the recordings special. Each year, that list features 25 films of major “cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance to the national film heritage.”
on the list of 850 titles include Hollywood classics like Gone with the wind, The sound of music NL The Matrixbut also an information film like The story of menstruation (1946), an amateur film of a visit to Disneyland and the Zapruder film of the assassination of President Kennedy. There are only nine pre-1900 titles on the list.
When a film is added to the registry, the Library of Congress, one of the cultural carriers of the US, joins efforts to preserve it, for example by including a copy in its collection, helping other archives to determine the title, store or assist with restorations.
Romcom, animation and blaxploitation
met at the same time Mardi Gras Carnival 24 other titles were selected, such as the romcom When Harry met Sallyhorror movie carryDisney animation The little Mermaid, blaxploitation film Super fly and the first of the successful series of Marvel films, Iron Man. Each is a title that has been influential in its genre, explained Congressional Librarian Carola Hayden.
There were 6858 nominations submitted by the public this year. Films must be at least ten years old to be eligible.