Among the movies found in storage are a copy of Ford's "Upstream," the earliest surviving movie by comic actor and director Mabel Normand and a period drama starring 1920s screen icon Clara Bow. Only 15 percent of the silent films made by Ford, who won four Oscars, have survived. New Zealand Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Christopher Finlayson said the find is important as there are no prints of the films remaining in the US. "These important films will be preserved and made available to both US and New Zealand audiences to enjoy," he told The New Zealand Herald newspaper Tuesday. Film Archive corporate services manager Steve Russell said the films were discovered when American preservationist Brian Meacham visited last year. Many of them remained in New Zealand because distributors at the time did not think the return shipping costs were worth the expense, he said.
