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An extremely rare collection of silent films was recently discovered in the vaults of the United Artists Archives in Hollywood, California. What makes these silent films unusual is that they appear to be produced, directed, and edited by middle school students.  The film shown above, The Fight for Love, is one of the examples from this rare collection. These films have caused a huge controversy among film historians because of disagreement about their authenticity.

Evidence from the films themselves show they were most likely created in the 1920s. For one thing, the music used in these films are old 78rpm cylinder recordings from the same era. The films also use the same camera angles that were prevalent in silent movies during this period, such as full body shots, two-shots, medium-shots, and close-ups. The characters are straight out of the silent film era: vagabonds and hobo muggers, pick-pockets, thieves, characters down on their luck, and jealous suitors.

The films are very scratchy, and have an aged film look to them that would be impossible to imitate. I, for one, think they are the real thing, and I’m amazed they were actually created by middle school students. Check out the rest of these newly discovered silent films on our class website, Watch Out!, and decide for yourself.