iMovie not loading Photos

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Level 1

119 points

iMovie not loading Photos

iMovie not loading photos on MacBook Pro M2 Pro

I'm working on a MacBook Pro (2023) with Apple M2 Pro, 16 GB; running Squoia 15.6.1. I cannot get iMovie to work. It used to be sluggish to say the least, but now it's completely useless. The Photos library is not loading, so I cannot start a new project. Sometimes the app becomes completely unresponsive, but Activity Monitor shows nothing odd. I've done about anything and everything. At this point I've managed to delete all previous projects, just kept one for testing. Booted, rebooted. Deleted the app. Reinstalled. Now running in safe mode, iMovie froze when clicked on My Media / Photos.

I also have iMovie 10.2.5 running on an old Intel iMac (2,9 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5; 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3)with MacOs 10.15.7. It's snappy, works as expected, except is has no acces to my (iCloud) Photos Library, so I can't just switch.

It's frustrating iMovie is not working on my MBP. Can anybody help, please?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Nov 20, 2025 1:53 AM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

215,304 points

Nov 20, 2025 9:15 AM in response to TRATRA

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your MBP?

How big is your boot drive?

How much free space do you have on your boot drive?

Is your Photos library the System Photos Library?

Sequoia is not up to 15.7.2 with includes security updates and fixes. You should update to that version and see how the MBP runs.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

215,304 points

Nov 28, 2025 9:59 AM in response to TRATRA

I'm also running Sequoia and iMovie 10.4.3 will only import movie (.mov) and .gif files.

If you want to make a movie with still photos and movie files you'll need to use Photos in a slideshow project or a 3rd party slideshow app like Movavi Slideshow Maker, Wondershare Filmora, and FotoMagico, which offer powerful video editing features for creating professional-looking slideshows.

Besides Photos you can use Apple's Keynote to create slideshows with still photos and video files.

I haven't used iMovie since the demise of iMovie 6 HD.

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Answer 3

TRATRA Author

Level 1

119 points

Nov 27, 2025 10:13 PM in response to Old Toad

Thank you for replying.

I am not running any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps. Etre Check is installed but not running actively.

Boot drive is 512 GB. Info says: 252,39 GB available of 494,38 GB.

Yes, my Photos Library IS the System Library. (44,51 GB)

I was not aware of the update, I have Automatic Updates on, it did not work this time.

Will update first. Test again, and report back.

Not ready to upgrade to Tahoe - whats your opinion?

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Answer 4

TRATRA Author

Level 1

119 points

Dec 9, 2025 12:37 AM in response to Old Toad

Thank you again. As I mentioned earlier, I also have iMovie installed on an older iMac (Late 2013, macOS Catalina 10.15.7). On that “discontinued and obsolete” machine, iMovie works as expected: fast and stable. But since it can’t access my (system) iCloud Photos Library, I have to use workarounds.

What I don’t understand is your comment that “iMovie 10.4.3 will only import .mov and .gif files.” I’m not importing files, I’m simply trying to use my Photos Library as a source, exactly as iMovie is supposed to support, and always has in the past.

iMovie is a powerful and valuable app when it works, and I’m not looking for free third-party replacements. I just want the built-in software that came with my Mac to function properly.

If you haven’t used iMovie since version 6, that explains some of the confusion: a lot has changed since then.

Anyway, I appreciate the reply, it’s rare to get one here these days. I think I’ll escalate to Apple Support directly, since the issue appears to be broader than my own setup.

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