Jean Oser was a remarkable man and a good friend. Many people will have known Jean throughout his lifetime in multiple ways as he was a film editor and director, a university professor, and a patron of the arts and culture in Canada (predominantly, living in Regina, Saskatchewan since 1970).
Jean was born in a town near the border between France and Germany - Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France - in 1908. A few years later, his family moved to Berlin where both his mother and father helped to determine his interest in vaudeville and early picture shows. In his final year at high school, he fell in with the experimental film community. Jean began his lifelong career as a sound/picture editor in 1927 when he began to work for Hans Richter (Ghosts Before Breakfast, 1927/28) and Walther Ruttmann (Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, 1927).
After serving an apprenticeship with Walther Ruttmann, he was offered a position as a sound editor and assistant director with Tobis Film. At Tobis Film, Jean continued to work on over 30 films as an motion picture editor and met G.W. Pabst.... (more)
About Jean Oser
It was on the eve of fifteen years since Jean Oser's passing (February 20, 2017) and the 40th Anniversary of the Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative (March 16, 2017) that I chose to pay homage to Jean through the “Finding Jean Project."
There are two parts to this project: (1) the website and its collection of memorabilia; and (2) the completion of a series of new original short texts, voice recordings, and digital media productions relating to Jean Oser's life and career.
Visitors to this site will find a great deal of information about Jean Oser, particularly about his life and contributions to the film community in Saskatchewan throughout the site. The new information produced for this project can be found under Stories about Jean.
About
the Project
Archives
The archives on this site represents a collection of memorabilia about Jean Oser, including articles, photos, moving images, sound recordings & music, and other documentation.
It is my hope that this site will enable more people to get to know Jean as well as allow those who knew him to continue to remember him well. I also hope that visitors may take inspiration from the site and life of Jean Oser as remembered here. Thank-you to all the contributors and supporters of this project.*
*All inquires are genuinely welcome, please see the contact form below.
The new materials on the "Stories about Jean" page were created for this project. These include voice recordings, texts, and digital media productions which are interspersed with older digitized photos and open source data to create a more complete picture of the memories of Jean Oser held by his past colleagues and former students and friends. I found the collection of old materials and the creation of new materials for this page to be the most rewarding aspect of this project. Thank-you for visiting the site. Please take the time to visit the Stories about Jean page.
Stories
About
Jean
Submissions
This project is now closed for submissions. I hope that you enjoy what you find on this site.
If you wish to conduct further research on Jean Oser, a good place to start is the University of Regina Archives and Special Collections. The Archives graciously provided access to some of the materials presented on this site.
The additional materials that I gathered during the course of this project will be added to the University of Regina Archives
in the name of each contributor.
Sincere thanks for all contributions!!!
Regina, Saskatchewan
Canada
Please use the contact form below,
including your email address
The Finding Jean Project
In association with the Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative, Birdsong Communications Ltd., the Department of Film at the University of Regina, and the University of Regina Archives & Special Collections
Special thanks to Brian Stockton, Mark Wihak, Larry Bauman, Belinda New and all the other wonderful people who have contributed to the project.
REC
