In just under a year, Malta Audio Visual Memories has taken its social media followers on an audiovisual journey through time spanning over a century of Maltese history. As a result of the on-going digitisation project at the PBS archives, many people could relive memories of events from their youth, and reminisce with friends and younger relatives by sharing videos.
In some cases, the MAVM team recovered and digitised rare and never-seen-before footage, and share it publicly for the first time on social media. An example that recently resurfaced is the incredible black-and-white footage recorded with a handheld cine-camera of the monument of Christ the King in Floriana a few years after its unveiling in 1913:
MAVM has shared various recordings of important occasions in Malta’s recent history on social media pages, which elicited enthusiasm among history lovers. However, some of the most well-received videos uploaded on these channels simply depict scenes from everyday life in Malta between the 1950s and 1990s.
Undoubtedly, nostalgia played a big part in the audience’s response to these beautiful clips taking us on a virtual stroll through the historic streets of Birgu to meet the people who lived in the city in the late 70s:
The best part of sharing this material on social media is that MAVM followers can leave their mark on the project too. By contributing their knowledge of the people, objects, locations, and events in the videos, the audience can enrich the metadata for each clip and ensure that future generations know more about their past.
Follow MAVM on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and watch out for weekly video uploads to get to know better the parts of Malta that live on in the PBS archives and our collective memories. Leave a comment if you recognise someone or something in the videos and help us understand better our audiovisual heritage.
