Days 9 and 8 Found Footage

Construction workers at a Southern California University found yesterday a medium sized cardboard box behind a wall in the bathroom of the university library, which is undergoing renovations. The find was curious for several reasons, one being its location. It was said that there was under a sink in the men's restroom a small door, presumably to access the plumbing, yet when a worker opened the door it led into an unused room, approximately 6 by 10 feet, and had no other openings from which to exit or enter. The room is assumed to be one of those spaces which are created by poor architectural planning, or a complete lack thereof, where during a previous renovation an unused space was simply walled up and forgotten. In the room was also several old cans of paint, several cigarette butts and an unusable flashlight.

The worker brought the box out, which was completely sealed in silver tape, cut the tape and opened the box. When the material was judged to be perhaps lost academic material, the worker turned the box over to the head librarian, who after further examination delivered the box to the head of the universities film department. The contents of the box have been reviewed, and a search now is underway for whomever may have left the box for posterity, or safekeeping. Because of the content, the search is for the moment focused on former alumni who may have graduated from the following departments; Film, Comparative Religion, Anthropology, or Native American Studies

Below is a list of the content of the box, and partial description as they have been discovered. More complete descriptions will be forthcoming.

38 developed reels of super-8 film;

dating from the imagery from the early 1960s into the late 1990s. The films range in content from standard, home movies of a family, cartoons, or pornography to fully realized films of varying lengths, some have been edited and spliced together, while others seem to be sequences not yet assembled into a (larger?) whole. Individual reels, apparently not related to any other sequences range from footage of whale hunting, ambient footage of light on water, assorted landscapes. As well, some reels are completely black, with perhaps a few seconds of a visible image, or conversely, entirely washed out, with one or two visible images.

14 Journals;

These journals are of a small, rectangular size, and based upon addresses written down, phone numbers, graphics from the manufacturer, and line formatting, show that the author of these journals purchased them over time while visiting, or residing in as many as 15 countries.

The contents of the journals are primarily concerned with various religions, focusing on pre Islamic, Persian cosmology, and variants of Native American religious practice of the mid 19^th century. These are rounded out with bits of Jewish philosophy, and Christian esoterica such as Alchemy and Gnosticism.

Another area of interest to the unknown author is, of course, film. There are copious notes taken by the author on films he has studied intently, as well as notes on a film he wishes to make. These detailed notes cover sound mixing, montage, post production effects. While not all the films have been examined yet due to the fragile nature of some of them, it appears that the author was attempting to put together one, cohesive film from this diverse material.

The journals are also filled with drawings that while not representational, seem to depict some as yet indecipherable system of editing. Other drawings may be of a religious, or anthropological nature.

4 Books;

Spiritual Body, Celestial Earth, by Henry Corbin

The Ghost Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890, by James Mooney

Human Days, A Mary Maclane Reader*

No Horizon, An Anthology of 16^th Century Adventurer's Tales, edited by Seth Haloway

The Arcades Project, by Walter Banjamin

• Several of the reels of super-8 appear to be related to Ms. Maclane

2 Hard Drives

One drive contains of 50 films, presumably by the owner of this box, over 600 pages of texts, notes, essays and stories. The other drive contains footage of deserts, mountains, or other landscapes. Mostly devoid of people, the shots are largely, 'austere', for lack of a better description.

On both drives are music and audio sequences either barely begun, or very finished. All of the audio appears to be intended for use in a film.

 It is our intent to seek out the originator of this box, presumably a former student, but also perhaps a former faculty member. Until we do, and if we do, work will continue to be done examining this strange find. It is our hope to present not a film, but the tattered remnants of what was to become a film. The film is of interest to the school as it seems to come from the fruit of beloved labor stemming from research done here.This film would then be left in the university's archive, along with the contents of the box.