Lost & Found: Bert Bush’s Accidental Archive (Trailer)

Trailer for 'Lost & Found: Bert Bush's Accidental Archive' a collection of local ephemeral films screening at the Vancity Theatre April 19, 2015. Trailer features selected excerpts from some of the titles to be screened.

Many films are like some old 78 records; a single or rare copy of a local or non-commercial production may languish unseen & unknown for years. Thanks to the collector’s muse of the late Bert Bush, we’re able to screen some of these local gems. Bert was a fixture in Vancouver’s film & video scene for over 45 years. He supervised printing for Trans Canada Films before opening his own post-production firm, Bush Edit House, at the foot of Lonsdale in 1971 (the firm’s motto: “Relax ... Keep Cheerful at the Bush Edit House”). Bert cut film & video, rented equipment and mentored young filmmakers until his death in 2006.

Lost & Found: Bert Bush’s Accidental Archive showcases some of these 16mm film finds. Their ’vintage’ ranges from 1958 to 1975. The films are a mixture of black & white and colour titles mixing BC tourism (A Date with BC, A Place To Be) with cautionary tales of alcohol abuse (Voices) & heart disease (Heartbeat), a ’how-to’ film about placing a long-distance call without operator assistance (DDD- Direct Distance Dialing) and rare examples of locally-produced 50’s & 60’s TV ads.