Global Super 8 Day

The Global Super8 Day is a grassroots phenomenon that began in the year 2000. At the House of Electronic Arts in Basel, where the threads of the Global Super8 Day 2015 converge, a varied programme will be offered.

The film format of amateurs, Super8, which the industry already declared dead in the middle of the 1980s, experienced a new boom at the end of the 20th century. Through Internet links, the scene began to spread, and little festivals sprang up like mushrooms. On a whim, Lutz Kayser from Hamburg and Beatrice Jäggi from Zürich coined the term “Global Super8 Day” on the occasion of the “Formula Super8” Festival in Zürich in 2000, and more and more people then adopted the name for their yearly Super8 festivals. This led to a first globally organised Global Super8 Day in 2005 celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Super8 film format. Coordinated from Zürich and linked via website, Super8 festivals took place on May 8, 2005 at more than 40 locations worldwide.

Following this model, the substandard film artists Florian Olloz and David Pfluger from the Mobileskino decided in the autumn of 2014 to start a similar initiative for the Super8 format’s 50th anniversary in 2015. The initiative met with an enthusiastic response: On October 24, 2015, events to celebrate Super8 will take place in more than 60 cities in more than 30 countries on 5 continents. Film projections, installations, performances, discussions, workshops, will reflect the richness of the Super8 scene.