Childhood archive in search for videos of 'Thatcher's children'

A nationwide appeal has been launched for video film depicting childhood in Scotland during the 1980s and 1990s by researchers at the University of Glasgow. In collaboration with the Scottish Screen Archive, they hope to help save video of children - at school, hospital, playing in the street, attending public events - for posterity before it is too late.

Dr Karen Lury, the principal investigator for the project, said: "The video generation of non-commercial film-makers and their work are in danger of extinction.

"The Scottish Screen Archive is bursting with films of children: from films showing clinics for children with rickets in the 1930s to moody teenagers in the 1970s. But once we reach the age of video it stops.

"Where were Thatcher's children? Did the relative cheapness of video mean that they were allowed to film themselves? How did they see the world and each other?"

The project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, hopes to locate amateur videomakers active between 1980 and 2000.

Dr Lury says it will help researchers understand how this "soon to be forgotten" media, video, defined a generation living and growing up in Scotland over a period of huge social and political change.

Janet McBain, curator at the Scottish Screen Archive, said: "There's a big gap in our archive when people stop shooting on cine film and switched over to video cameras - which is basically the last quarter of the 20th century.

"People typically find a collection of old celluloid films and they no longer have any way of looking at them, so they are happy to hand it over to us. However, if they have video material they can still see it and perhaps they think it's too recent for us to be interested."

She was keen to stress they are specifically seeking amateur films make by community groups, schools or film workshops.

Film formats have evolved over the last century, with each making its predecessor obsolete.

During the Second World War 8mm celluloid became more popular, then in the 1970s video emerged, with various formats such as Betamax being beaten by VHS to become the standard. However, that has now been outdated by digital.

Film-maker Jonathan Ley said he believes there could be a wealth of untapped talent to emerge from the project.

He said: "This was the period when I began making films.There is probably fascinating video footage sitting on shelves which people don't know how to watch any more."

The project will involve a public archive screening at the Glasgow Film Theatre, educational resources posted online and an exhibition at the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh.