‘It’s a great find’: Lost silent film found in Japan comes back home to New Hampshire
By Mike Moses
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NEWPORT, New Hampshire (WMUR) — A lost silent film made more than one century ago with deep New Hampshire roots has turned up in Japan.
A local film archivist is bringing the piece of history back to the community and hoping more lost films are still out there.
“Van-ar-chy” was shot in the Sunapee area and made by Billy B. Van, a Newport resident and pioneer in the silent film industry.
“He was helping to define what movies were in the production of these early features that he made,” said John Tariot, a film archivist.
“Van-ar-chy” is on the list of lost Van films that Tariot had been trying to track down until a Japanese film student found it while researching a project.
“Somebody, we believe, brought it with them to Japan. And there it sat, unknown, unloved, unfound,” Tariot said. “It’s a great find. It means the world to me to be able to return this to the residents of the area — give something back to the community.”
Van was well known around town, and he could often be seen in the Newport Opera House speaking out during town meetings.
“Folks would actually come to the town meetings just to see Billy B. Van orate,” said Dean Stetson, of the Newport Historical Society.
Van was also a farmer and entrepreneur who created products like soap and shampoo, but it’s his films that are now giving people a new look at the town’s past.
“This particular film, ‘Van-ar-chy,’ does have a number of scenes that were shot and are still quite familiar in our community,” Stetson said.
As Tariot prepares to share “Van-ar-chy” during a special screening next month, the discovery is also encouraging him to keep searching for more lost films.
“So the hunt will continue after this. This is not the end by any means,” Teriot said.
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