by KEVIN THOMAS, TIMES STAFF WRITER

A highlight of the Midnight Special Bookstore's "Documental" series this Saturday at 7 p.m. is Kent Hayward's deeply affecting 49-minute "Homestead Artifact." It chronicles his attempt, with his recently deceased grandfather's experience as the child of New Mexico homesteaders.

Hayward's delightful and wise maternal grandmother Garnet McBride, 90, has become her family's historian. She has a particular interest in her husband Arlene (Mac) McBride's family's vain attempt to ranch cattle. The experience of her in-laws was so bitter they never spoke of it, but so strong was Mac's attachment to the homestead that he and Garnet chose Roswell as their retirement home. (Both had been Los Angeles high school teachers).

Mac's story has its own "Rosebud," which gives unexpected impact to the seemingly universal yearning to reconnect with some significant aspect or incident in our childhood as we grow older, thus somehow completing the circle of our lives. Hayward has succeeded beautifully in making history personal, and his film has special meaning for those descended from western pioneers.

This continuing series offers yet another treasure-trove of local documentary and experimental films; the highlight of this week's offerings is Kent Hayward's deeply personal Homestead Artifact, which examines his family's history as homesteaders in New Mexico and, as such, gives us a rich glimpse into the struggles of those who settled the American West. Through images of the New Mexico landscape, the discovery of artifacts found on a return trip to the 160 acres once owned by the family, and extensive interviews with his grandmother - a strong-willed former farm girl from California - Hayward weaves an affecting rumination on our desire to know where we came from, and the importance of memories.

-Nicole Campos