A lost silent film found in Japan is coming home to Newport
A Japanese film student found Van-ar-chy, shot around Sunapee by Newport silent-film pioneer Billy B. Van, and a local archivist is bringing it home for a community screening.
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A silent film made more than a century ago around Lake Sunapee has turned up in Japan, and a Newport archivist is bringing it back for a public screening, WMUR reported on October 20, 2026. "Van-ar-chy" was made by Billy B. Van, a Newport resident who helped shape early movies. John Tariot had the title on a list of lost Van films. A film student in Japan found the print while researching a project. Tariot told the station he believes someone carried it there, where it sat unknown.
Dean Stetson of the Newport Historical Society said Van was a regular sight at town meetings in the opera house, enough that people came to hear him talk, and that he was also a farmer who sold soap and shampoo. Stetson said this particular film includes scenes people in town can still recognize. Tariot is preparing a community screening next month. He said the hunt for other missing Van films does not stop with this one.
For the classroom
A silent movie made more than 100 years ago near Newport, New Hampshire, was lost for a long time. Billy B. Van, who lived in Newport, made it and filmed scenes around nearby Lake Sunapee. A film student in Japan found the movie during a school project. A Newport archivist named John Tariot is bringing it back so the town can watch it together next month. A local historian said some places in the movie still look familiar. Tariot plans to keep looking for other films by Van that are still missing.
- How can a movie get lost for a hundred years and then turn up in another country?
- What would you look for if an old film showed your town?
- Why does a community screening matter more than watching alone?
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