Smith Island Family Frames

Family Frames is a documentary film exploring Smith Island history through pictures and interviews. Reading old family photographs with islanders, as these are archived in albums, boxes or bags, opens doors into a shared past and present on Smith Island. Old island photos hold memories that unlock individual and social memories. When islanders read their family photographs, they identify kinship ties first and comment on the land, houses, or activities in the photos. By the references to these points, Smith Islanders tell the story of the history of the island. A short film clip from the documentary film presents material from ethnographic fieldwork by Dr. Jana Kopelent Rehak, involves Smith Island citizens and directly engages the Somerset County Library, Smith Island United, the Smith Island Cultural Center and University of Maryland Baltimore County. The major goal is to educate the general public about Smith Island's unique heritage, history and traditions.