After the Great December 2010 blizzard, filmmaker Todd Bieber found a canister of undeveloped film in Prospect Park. He created a video to find the owner—who Bieber believed was foreign based on the "Europe look" a photographs' subjects had. A few weeks later, Bieber still hadn't found the owner but got various suggestions. Now, Bieber tells us not only has he found the owner but he made a trip to, yes, Europe, to deliver the film to her (and visit some of the people who emailed him with ideas and invitations to visit him)—and there's video, too!
Bieber answered a few of our questions (watch the video first):
How long did it take you to plan the trip after Camille contacted you? "I 100% confirmed that Camille was the owner on Sunday Feb 13th and booked the flight that night. I left on Friday Feb 18th and returned on Feb 28th. So I had very little time to plan. That week was very crazy. I was planning this enormous road trip and I didn't have a car rented until the morning I left."
Did Camille explain how she lost the film? Or was she looking for it? Is she a photography or art student? "Camille was swapping film in her camera when she dropped it in the park. She didn't even know she had lost it until she saw the video. (She took several rolls while she was in New York and hadn't had them developed). She's not a professional photographer. She studies city planning. "
Is Camille (and her family) planning a return visit to NYC? Will you be showing them around? "Camille would love to come back to NYC soon. We don't have any definite plans right now -- but I'll definitely play host. I'll take them to Di Fara's and we'll buy some Six-point beer. I'm also hoping all of the other people I met can come visit me. I'm going to have to buy a fold-out couch/bed."
Will you be dropping off some film in Asia next? "I would love to keep dropping film on every continent. This whole thing has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. If I can keep it going... that would be awesome."
