I loved your story, Leena! It’s a shame you didn’t have any luck finding the footage but it’s definitely reassuring to know that those working within reference at the National Film and Sound Archive are so accommodating and helpful.
I agree with your sentiment about the necessity of reference librarians – I think much of the belief stems from the idea that people are capable of finding information entirely on their own (particularly on virtual platforms) when that’s certainly not the case, particularly when they only have vague details or require specialised knowledge.