My photos library does not show up in iMovie

The current version 10.14.1 has a bugfix for iMovie on Catalina: " Fixes an issue that prevented media from appearing in the Photos library browser when using iMovie on macOS Catalina".

Perhaps this bugfix for Catalina has now broken this feature for iMovie on Mojave. The Media Browser is working well now for iMovie on my Catalina Macs, but on the Mojave Mac I had to wait for twenty minutes, before the Photos Library appeared in the sidebar in iMovie, and I had to set the view to "All Photos". While it had been showing "Years", no photos appeared at all.

That is perfect. I am glad it is working now for you.

If you cannot upgrade to a newer system from the App Store, you can also go for reinstalling the system from the Recovery partition, see: How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery – Apple Support

If you start up the Mac with ⌥⌘R, reinstalling from Recovery will upgrade to the most recent system version compatible with your mac.

After you make a new library your system photo library, Photos needs time to create previews for the Media Browser.

I am even seeing my iCloud Photos Library in iMovie in "My Media". This is working, because I do not use "Optimise Mac Storage" with iCloud. But iMovie is needing a very long time to open the Photos Library. For ten minutes or so I have to watch the spinning beachball and "loading". I am usually having a cup of coffee, and then the photos will be visible. If you are seeing "Loading" when trying to access the photos, be patient. It can take several minutes.

One more thing - you did not yet mention, where your Photos Library is stored. Is it on an external volume? If yes, the external volume needs to be connected at all times you are logged into your user account. The file system format should be macOS Extended (Journaled) and the volume must not be used for Time Machine backups.

Try going to System Preferences/Security and Privacy/Privacy/Automation. After clicking on Automation in the sidebar, see if iMovie has access to Photos.

You can try poking around in the above window to see if you can find anything that might connect iMovie to Photos or vice versa.

-- Rich

Photos in the cloud will not be read by iMovie. Same if you have optimized storage selected for iCloud Photos.

If the above is your situation, try downloading a few photos to your Photos app library and see if they will show up in the Photos item in the iMovie media sidebar.

You can also try resetting your preferences. To do that, open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and selecting to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. Now see if the Photos item with your photos appears.

As a workaround, you can always export a photo or photos from the Photos app library to your desktop and from there drag it into iMovie.

-- Rich

Hmmmmm. Strange.

Try redownloading iMovie 10. To update/redownload iMovie 10, drag your iMovie 10 app from the Applications folder into the trash, but do not empty the trash. Sign in to the app store and open your purchases folder by

clicking on your name at the bottom of the app store side bar. You will see your purchases displayed, including iMovie 10. Redownload/update iMovie from there. If not successful, drag your present iMovie app out of the trash and return it to the Applications folder. Now see if iMovie will display the Photos item.

You could also try booting up in Safe Mode (see Finder menu for instructions) and, after everything loads,

immediately shut down and reboot in normal mode. Then see if iMovie works properly.

Also, I see that you are using the Dutch language version of iMovie. It is a longshot, but you might try going to System Preferences/Language and Region and changing the language to English UK. See if that makes any difference. You can always change back to Dutch.

-- Rich

I haven't been able to figure out how to add iMovie to the Automation box, either. In my case it was already added, though I had no involvement in that.

Try adding iMovie to the folder in the Privacy sidebar that says Volledige Schijftoegang (Full Disk Access). There will be a little + emblem at the bottom of the box to let you do that.

-- Rich

I have pretty well run out of ideas. You might try calling Apple Support to see if the savvy techs there can solve this. They have the capability of remotely accessing your computer, that we can't do here. Click on the Contact Support item in the upper right hand corner of this forum's screen. Navigate to a place where you can give your phone number for Apple Support to call you back.

If Apple Support solves this would you post back so that others who experience your Photos issue can benefit?

-- Rich