Texas Archive of the Moving Image

For over one hundred years, film and video have uniquely documented history. In Texas, early films recorded Native American traditions, the boom time in oil fields, and daily life in both rural and urban communities across the state. In 1963, a Texas home movie became one of the most famous films of all time: The Zapruder film of John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas. Yet no institution has emerged that is dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of moving images specifically related to Texas -- until now.

The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) celebrates the state's home movies, industrial films, television output, and regional cine-club product as well as Hollywood and internationally produced images of Texas. Valuable to state history, these films also serve an important collaborative role in the preservation and restoration of the larger motion picture heritage for the United States.

TAMI is an independent 501c3 organization dedicated to the preservation of Texas film heritage. Every year, home movies, television programs, and locally produced films are lost as these visual records of Texas rapidly decompose or are simply thrown away. TAMI works to discover these "orphan" films and to educate the public about moving image history and contemporary preservation practice.

TAMI is actively searching for any and all film collections referencing the state or made by Texans themselves. Do you have or know of films or videos that deal with life or work, history or contemporary Texas? Please email, call, or write TAMI and participate in the creation of a real reel Texas. Together, we will recover these unique visual memories of Texans and all who are Texans at heart.