Internet Archive Celebrates New Public Domain Works with Remixes in Short Film Contest

To celebrate 2025's newest arrivals in the public domain, the Internet Archive held a special in-person event at their San Francisco headquarters, as well as a virtual celebration online. (It opens with an absolutely gorgeous rendition of "Happy Days are Hear Again" played on a musical saw.)

And somewhere in the festivities they announced the winners of this year's annual "Public Domain Day Film Remix Contest." These remarkable films not only reimagined and transformed public domain works but also demonstrated the boundless potential of remixing creative works to create something new... Explore all 140+ submissions at the 2025 Public Domain Day Film Remix Contest collection at the Internet Archive...

"The jury was deeply impressed by Queline Meadows's inspired mix of movies, images, music and text woven into a subtle and emotionally affecting video expressing a strong sense of nostalgia and the irretrievable passage of time," said film archivist Rick Prelinger... Filmmaker Samantha Close expresses both the breadth of 1929's production and the eternal bounty of the public domain, using images from 1929's films and public domain images from elsewhere and elsewhen.
One honorable mention entry was described as "an audacious and yes, dopey exploration of the essential greatness of Internet Archive and the dread near-infinity of copyright."

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[Moryath]

Philip J. Fry seems to have made a quick trip back to the past?

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[Digital Avatar]

Accuracy? Where we're going we don't need accuracy.

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[JohnWilliams]

And are happy days really "hear" again?

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[EditorDavid]

Wow, I was off by 1010 years!

I wonder if 3035 will look like this XKCD comic [xkcd.com]?

3035 or 2025?

[H_Fisher]

To celebrate 3035's newest arrivals in the public domain ...

I knew Disney had lobbied for some ridiculous copyright terms, but this is ludicrous! /s