“Everyone in the Car!” California Roadside Amusements Vintage Home Movie Cocktail Hour with Deserted Films

A vintage home movie road trip through California with stops at some of the state’s most beloved (and strange!) attractions. Home movies of the Golden State shot during the golden age of amateur filmmaking! Local home movie archive, Deserted Films (desertedfilms.org), will briefly discuss the work of their nonprofit and screen/contextualize a selection of amateur 16mm, 8mm and Super 8 films (some on vintage mechanical equipment). Amusement parks! State and county fairs! Natural wonders! Roadside attractions! Engineering feats! Ghost towns! Movie studios! This is what California used to look like! Arrive early to purchase wine or cocktails at CAMP Cafe for the show.

NEW FOR 2025: Remember Auto Bingo? Each “passenger” gets a card populated with items one might see on a road trip (camper, barn, motorcycle) and the first to get a line of five shouts “BINGO!” We replicate the game here…with prizes! Now pay attention!

Melissa Dollman and Devin Orgeron of Deserted Films care for and make accessible films shot in California (and sometimes beyond). Disconnected from their makers, removed from their contexts, these films end up at estate sales, yard sales, auctions, thrift stores, and antique shops. Deserted? Perhaps. Our mission, however, is to reunite these materials with the region they depict and to amass and make available a roster of films that present a fuller image of the area. The Deserted Films collection consists of over 1000 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm films, as well as a small collection of home movies transferred to, or originally shot, on VHS.

$25

Things To KnowAges 13 and older
Wheelchair accessible
Parking and handicap parking available
Seated activity
No smoking or e-cigarettes

Important InformationArrive early to purchase wine or cocktails at CAMP cafe for the show.
Modernism Week Theater is located at the south end of the hotel’s central atrium.
Ample free public parking is available. Enter underground parking at Hyatt on Palm Canyon Drive or use the multi-level public garage across from the Palm Springs Art Museum.
The organizer of this event is Modernism Week CAMP Theater Activity.

Check-in Location Modernism Week Theater At CAMP
Hyatt Palm Springs
285 N Palm Canyon Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92262View Map

Photo Credits: Deserted Films {"locationAddressVisibility":"visible"}