We are gearing up for the opening of The American Story at the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C., this fall.

We’re offering a virtual first look in the lead-up to this exciting new exhibition, and this will be our final sneak peek as we dive into the last gallery called “Your National Archives in Action.” We are especially grateful to Ancestry, who made this gallery possible, and to Tracey and Steve Caple for their contribution of the central interactive table.

National Archives records are available to all Americans. They make a unique connection with the past, enable people from every generation to uncover individual family histories, and help us learn about our shared heritage. Each of us can connect to something in the National Archives, and the Your Archives in Action Gallery is designed to help you discover those connections. 

This gallery includes interactive portals for visitors to start their genealogy journey and explore their family lineage. The gallery also highlights several individuals who have used National Archives records to write history, make historic and documentary films, research their family histories, or find important records about themselves or family members.

Rendering of Your National Archives in Action

One of these individuals is filmmaker Todd Douglass Miller, who used records from the National Archives to tell the story of the mission that put humans on the moon for the first time.  In 2017, Miller set out to make a documentary film about Apollo 11 using only archival materials. What began as a bold creative idea soon became a historic preservation project of its own, powered by the records at the National Archives. According to Miller, the journey started with one simple question: “Could we capture the magnitude of this event using only archival materials?”

Courtesy: Statement Pictures LLC

Miller’s goal was to create a film that immersed audiences in the Apollo 11 mission without narration or reenactments. He only wanted the actual footage and sound recorded at the time. But to do that, he and his team needed access to the highest-quality source material available. That search took them deep into the holdings of NASA and the National Archives and led to a remarkable discovery.

Courtesy: Statement Pictures LLC

While reviewing materials at the National Archives, archivist Dan Rooney uncovered a collection of original 65mm and 70mm large-format film reels documenting Apollo 11 in exceptional detail. Many of these reels had never been digitized or widely seen. Initially, the team had planned to rescan existing 16mm and television footage, but this discovery changed the scope of the project entirely. Among the finds were pristine engineering and tracking footage, much of it unseen by the public, which captured the mission with unprecedented clarity and scale.

Courtesy: Statement Pictures LLC

Preserved safely for decades in cold storage, they included breathtaking footage of the Saturn V rocket on the launch pad, liftoff, and post-mission events. For Miller, it was a turning point. As he described it, “Our project would be more than a film, it would be a work of historic preservation.”

Astronaut Neil Armstrong
Courtesy: Statement Pictures LLC

The team also gained access to over 11,000 hours of NASA mission audio, which allowed them to sync silent footage with actual conversations from Mission Control and the spacecraft. Combined with custom-built 8K film scanners, this archival treasure trove became the foundation for Apollo 11 (2019).

Director Todd Douglas Miller
Courtesy: Statement Pictures LLC

Before the film’s release, the filmmakers arranged private screenings for Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong’s family. This was an important, albeit “nail-biting” step for the team, because they were determined to ensure the film authentically reflected the experience and significance of the mission. Thankfully, all went well and the film was received positively.

Apollo 11 premiered at Sundance in January 2019 to critical acclaim, followed by IMAX and theatrical releases in March 2019. Miller’s journey illustrates the power of the National Archives to illuminate our shared past and how its records are always able to reveal something new.