In 2014, Levi Bettwieser of the Rescued Film Project discovered 31 rolls of film that were never developed.
As he sorted through them, he realized just how old the canisters were.
"I generally find a roll here, a roll there, someone finds a roll in a camera, they sell it, or they give it to me, or they donate it to the project," Levi explains of his find in the video below, posted on February 15, 2017. "So, to find a batch of film that's 31 rolls from the same source, the same photographer that is 70 to 80 years old is even more uncommon."
Due to written dates and an attached letter on one of the rolls, it's clear that the collection of film is from the World War II era.
Levi has no idea what he's going to see once all the film is developed, but he's excited to find out.
Levi begins his process by unloading the rolls onto plastic reels, which he then packs into a lightproof tank.
"There are a few rolls that have what appear to be water damage. There's rust on some of the spools, which tells me that it's been exposed to moisture, which is really not good for film," he says as he starts his process in the dark. "Obviously, film is an extremely organic substance. It's very sensitive to light and moisture and temperature changes."
Levi finishes his long process and pulls out the first batch.
"I pop the first one open and hold it up and that's when I kind of take a breath of fresh air and I'm just amazed at what I see."
To see the lost historic treasures that Levi developed, check out the video below.
Finally, please SHARE this incredible story if you are amazed, just like Levi.
