Emma's Time Machine travels through history

Curious about San Anselmo and Fairfax's past? But too lazy to do all that research and work to find out how things used to be?

Just watch the movie, instead.

San Anselmo filmmaker and Academy Award-winning sound designer Ben Burtt will be presenting the last chapter in his popular Emma's Time Machine documentary series at the Rafael Theater on Aug. 1 as part of a benefit for the Marin History Museum.

The series of Emma's Time Machine films are narrated by Emma, Ben's daughter, as the two of them explore the history of Marin.

"It all began as a means of giving us a goal in our Saturday morning bike rides. We would take an old photo showing something in our town that no longer existed. We would ride and explore to find the location to see if any evidence was there to connect the present with the old picture," said Ben.

What began as a simple father-daughter exercise quickly became a full-length film after Emma wanted to make a movie for school. The two have made a series of popular episodes, including one about floods in the Ross Valley, over the last five years showing the changes the area has gone through. (And in five years, Emma's grown up too!)

The final chapter, called Adventures in Time and Space, will premiere on Sunday as part of a community screening series put on by the California Film Institute. Ben and Emma will also present other historic clips. Adventures in Time and Space focuses on the past and present of San Anselmo and Fairfax, as well as different locations where movies – from silent films to Indiana Jones – were shot.

The California Film Institute received funding from the Marin Community Foundation to support local non-profit agencies through screenings. This screening will serve as a fundraiser for the Marin History Museum. Along with tickets to the screening and Q&A, guests are invited to purchase tickets to the VIP reception at the history museum. All proceeds will go to the museum.

Ben, actually, used the museum's collection facility in Novato to do research for the films. The collection facility houses 20,000 objects and over 200,000 photos.

"Emma and I have really had an adventure going back in time to examine the people and places of yesteryear," said Ben. "Each of us in Marin is part of a new generation. We often just forget about the people and events that proceeded us in our community."

Don't forget history; watch the adventure.

Emma's Time Machine will be shown on Aug. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Rafael Film Center. Tickets for the film screening are $20; tickets including the reception are $40. Tickets can be purchased at the Rafael Film Center box office or online here.