While Duke’s March dance of 2023 has come to an end, Lilly Library brings you its own March Madness with 16 contrapuntal contenders. All of the movies competing in Lilly’s March Musical Movie Madness are available to watch online, with access brought to you by Duke Libraries and the Swank Digital Campus streaming platform. Contestants will be entered in a raffle, and Duke staff are eligible to win an electronic book plate in the online catalog record for the musical movie of their choosing. It’s shaping up to be a thrilling March at Lilly Library!
Lilly’s resident bracketologist, Nathaniel Brown, and film “reserves” aficionado, David Felton, will bring you all the highlights of this exciting competition. Watch their play-by-play videos highlighting each exciting round.
Four rounds of voting will open at 9am the first day of each round and close at 8pm the last day: Sounds of 16: 3/20-3/22 Eighth Notes: 3/23-3/27 4/4 Time: 3/28-3/29 Dynamic Duet: 3/30-4/2 Finale (winner announced): 4/3.
April 3-9, 2022 marks National Library Week. Celebrate libraries and librarians by “checking out” (get it?) one of these excellent films in Duke Libraries’ collection:
dir. Alain Guillon, 2020
Chut…!
Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis. In a society where everything is commercial, where time is limited, where transmission is devalued, there is a place of gratuitousness and encounter where all kinds of people, cultures, practices meet, where we constantly fight inequalities and social violence, a place of sharing, a refuge, an island. Quietly, joyfully, something important is being made here, invisible to the hurried or accounting gaze: the development of a new social contract.
dir. Frederick Wiseman, 2017
Ex Libris: New York Public Library
“I’ve always loved and used public libraries for what I can learn and discover and for the surprises and stimulation they offer. I was not familiar, before I made the film, with the depth, scope and range of the New York Public Library and the wide range of services they provide to all classes, races and ethnicities in the main library and its 92 branches.” — Frederick Wiseman
dir. Vivienne Roumani-Denn, 2013
Out of Print
Every aspect of the written word is changing—from publishing to writing and selling to reading. If books are the foundation of civilization, how does that change the world of ideas? And how does it change us? With the unique perspective gained as a director at the Library of Congress and the UC Berkeley Library, filmmaker Vivienne Roumani tackles the questions confronting today’s word industry and shows that much more is at stake than how quickly we can access the latest byte. Out of Print is narrated by Meryl Streep and features Jeff Bezos, Scott Turow, Ray Bradbury, Jeffrey Toobin, Robert Darnton, Jane Friedman, Alberto Manguel, booksellers, cognitive scientists, architects, educators, parents, and students.
dir. Megan Rossman, 2018
The Archivettes
For more than 40 years, the Lesbian Herstory Archives has combated lesbian invisibility by literally rescuing history from the trash. The Archivettes provides a comprehensive look at the history of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, the personal lives of the women involved in it, and the materials it protects and the challenges arising as the founders face their final years. The Lesbian Herstory Archives began in 1974, when a group of women involved in the Gay Academic Union realized that lesbian history was disappearing as quickly as it was being made. It is now home to the world’s largest collection of materials by and about lesbians and their communities.
dir. Julian Samuel, 2004
Save and Burn The first half of the film discusses the history of libraries and how they have facilitated the cross fertilization of ideas from one culture to another throughout history. The second half switches focus towards libraries in the political realm, including a discussion of the fate of libraries and their collections during periods of social unrest. Topics in this portion include the Patriot Act, the destruction of Palestinian libraries by Israeli soldiers, and the fate of Iraqi libraries during the country’s “liberation.”
dir. Terry Sanders, 1987
Slow Fires: On the Preservation of the Human Record
This award-winning documentary tells the unforgettable story of the deterioration and destruction of our world’s intellectual heritage and the global crisis in preserving library materials. Sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources. Millions of pages of paper in books, photographs, drawings, and maps are disintegrating and turning to dust. This remarkable film provides a comprehensive assessment of the worldwide situation, demonstrates methods of restoration and preservation and suggests ways to prevent new documents from facing ultimate destruction.
Change the Subject
No human being is illegal. When Dartmouth College students challenged anti-immigrant language in the Library of Congress, their activism sparked a movement–and a cataloging term became a flashpoint in the immigration debate on Capitol Hill.
Films curated by Danette Pachtner, Librarian for Film, Video & Digital Media and Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies
Post by Danette Pachtner, Duke Libraries’ Librarian for Film, Video & Digital Media and Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies
Black History Month is dedicated to the histories and stories of Black Americans and the African diaspora who have systemically been sidelined for centuries. Duke Libraries’ film collection has a treasure trove of titles to view and explore.
The Docuseek African-American Studies Collection is an interdisciplinary streaming video collection of over 80 award-winning films, featuring popular and classic films plus dynamic new releases, focused on social, political and cultural history and contemporary issues that are ideal resources for Black History Month.
Duke Libraries provides access to these streaming videos in TheDocuseek Complete Collection, with Duke NetId/password authentication.
John Lewis: Get in the Way | dir. Kathleen Dowdey | 2020
John Lewis: Get in the Way tells the gripping tale of Lewis’s role in the vanguard of the Civil Rights Movement through never-before-seen interviews shot over 20 years.
Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution details the history of how Medicare was leveraged to desegregate hospitals. Before Medicare, fewer than half the nation’s hospitals served black and white patients equally, and in the South, 1/3 of hospitals would not admit African-Americans even for emergencies. Power to Heal illustrates how Movement leaders and grass-roots volunteers pressed and worked with the federal government to achieve a greater measure of justice and fairness for African-Americans.
Horror Noire: a History of Black Horror | dir. Xavier Burgin | 2019
Horror Noire traces the extensive history of Black horror films. Delving into a century of genre films that by turns utilized, caricatured, exploited, sidelined, and finally embraced them, Horror Noire traces a secret history of Black Americans in Hollywood through their connection to the horror genre.
Al Helm follows an African American Christian choir’s journey to the Palestinian National Theater to put on a play about Martin Luther King, Jr. A rousing portrait of the changes unfolding in the Middle East as a nonviolent movement grows in Palestine, this dynamic and complex work is born of a brilliantly simple and potent idea: what would happen if African American Christians—the same group who served as exemplars of the Civil Rights Movement—could witness firsthand the plight of Palestinians today?
The Loving Story | dir. Nancy Buirski | 2011A Crime on the Bayou | dir. Nancy Buirski | 2020
The classic documentary film, The Loving Story, from Nancy Buirski’s trilogy profiling brave individuals who fought for justice in and around the Civil Rights era, is a heart-rending story of the Lovings and the ground-breaking court case that legalized marriage between interracial couples.A Crime on the Bayou, is the final film in Buirski’s trilogy, which outlines the extraordinary story of Gary Duncan, arrested for touching a white boy’s arm, whose civil rights case in Louisiana went all the way to the Supreme Court in the late 1960s.
River City Drumbeatchronicles Edward “Nardie” White’s instruction of ancestral Pan-African culture and drumming in Louisville, Kentucky. For three decades, Edward “Nardie” White has been leading the River City Drum Corps in order to instill a foundation of purposeful resilience within his neighborhood youth. Against the backdrop of the American South, Mr. White’s drumline and its multi-generational network of support has been a lifeline for many young African Americans. In his final year as director he trains his successor Albert Shumake, a young artist whose troubled life was transformed by the drumline and Mr. White’s mentorship when he was a teen. During this transitional year, Mr. White and Albert reflect on the tragedies and triumphs in their lives and the legacy of the drum corps.
Father’s Kingdom depicts the untold story of the remarkable civil rights pioneer Father Divine. Once a celebrity who was decades ahead of his time fighting for civil rights, he has largely been written out of history because of the audacity of his religious claims, Father’s revolutionary ideas on race and identity still resonate today.
Black Girl in Suburbia | dir. Melissa Lowery | 2016
Black Girl in Suburbia takes a look at the suburbs of America from the perspective of women of color. Through conversations with her own daughters, with teachers and scholars who are experts in the personal impacts of growing up a person of color in a predominately white place, this film explores the conflicts that many Black girls in homogeneous hometowns have in relating to both white and Black communities.
New Docuseek releases include Stateless, a film that reveals the dark and deadly history of institutionalized oppression of Dominicans of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic, and Oliver Tambo, about the man responsible for the release of Nelson Mandela and who helped to end the apartheid in South Africa.
For Native American History Month, one of Duke Libraries’ streaming video platforms, Docuseek, is highlighting a number of films about and made by Indigenous Peoples. Docuseek presents an excellent collection of documentary films about Native Americans, including National Film Board of Canada’s First Nations films, Women Make Movies, and distributors Bullfrog Films and Icarus Films.
These selections trace Indigenous activism, movement-building, politics, art, culture, language, astronomy, restorative-justice systems, and the fight to protect water and sacred lands.
As Nutayuneaan (dir. Anne Makepeace, 2011)
As Nutayuneaan (We Still Live Here)
Tells the amazing story of the return of the Wampanoag language, a language that was silenced for more than a century.
(Bullfrog Films; streaming with Duke netid/password)
Conscience Point (dir. Treva Wurmfeld, 2021)
Conscience Point Unearths a deep clash of values between the Shinnecock Indian Nation and their elite Hamptons neighbors, who have made sacred land their playground. (Women Make Movies; streaming with Duke netid/password)
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (dir. Alanis Obomsawin, 2015)
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
Examines the historic confrontation between the Mohawks, Québec police, and the Canadian army that propelled Native issues into the international spotlight and into the Canadian conscience.
(National Film Board of Canada; streaming with Duke netid/password)
The Mystery of Chaco Canyon, dir. Anna Sofaer, 2015)
The Mystery of Chaco Canyon
Unveils the ancient astronomy of southwestern Pueblo Indians.
(Bullfrog Films; streaming with Duke netid/password)
Skydancer (dir. Katja Esson, 2021)
Skydancer
Academy Award-nominated director Katja Esson explores the colorful and at times tragic history of the Mohawk skywalkers, men who leave their families on the reservation to travel to NYC to work construction jobs.
(Women Make Movies; streaming with Duke netid/password)
Standing on Sacred Ground (dir. Christopher McLeod, 2015)
Standing on Sacred Ground
In this four-part documentary series from the producer of In the Light of Reverence, native people share ecological wisdom and spiritual reverence while battling a utilitarian view of land in the form of government megaprojects, consumer culture, and resource extraction as well as competing religions and climate change.
(Bullfrog Films; streaming with Duke netid/password)
Native Cinema Showcase 2021
If these titles whet your appetite for more great movies, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian’s Native Cinema Showcase is coming up later this month. An annual celebration of the best in Native film, this year’s showcase is online and runs from November 12-18, 2021. And Women Make Movies is screening online a selection of films by and about Native American women from November 19-30th; sign up here to receive more info.
The Docuseekstreaming video platform provides a window into subjects and content from around the world and across disciplines. Here is a selection of titles that examine indigenous peoples of North America. Available through Duke Libraries with netid/password authentication, explore new cultures and topics through the lens of award-winning filmmakers.
AmaStream Online
A powerful look at the untold story of the involuntary sterilization of Native American women conducted by the Indian Health Service and lasting well into the 1970s.
(Bullfrog Films, 2019, dir. Lorna Tucker)
Awake : a dream from Standing RockStream Online or Lilly DVD 31281
Moving from summer 2016, when demonstrations over the Dakota Access Pipeline’s demolishing of sacred Native burial grounds began, the film documents the story of Native-led fight for clean water and the environment. The film is a collaboration between indigenous filmmakers: Director Myron Dewey and Executive Producer Doug Good Feather; and environmental Oscar-nominated filmmakers Josh Fox and James Spione.
nipawistamasowin: We Will Stand Up Stream Online
The story of the killing of young Cree man Colten Boushie and his family’s pursuit of justice weaves a profound narrative encompassing the filmmaker’s own adoption. (National Film Board of Canada, 2020, dir. Tasha Hubbard)
PauletteStream Online
Follows the historic campaign of Paulette Jordan, the first Native American candidate — as well as the first woman — to win the Idaho Primary for Governor. (Women Make Movies, 2020, dir. Heather Rae)
Sisters Rising Stream Online Native American survivors of sexual assault fight to restore personal and tribal sovereignty against the backdrop of an ongoing legacy of violent colonization. (Woman Make Movies, 2021, dir. Willow O’Feral)
Tribal Justice Stream Online
Anne Makepeace documents an effective criminal justice reform movement in America: the efforts of tribal courts to return to traditional, community-healing concepts of justice. (Bullfrog Films, 2017, dir. Anne Makepeace)
Without a Whisper Stream online
The untold story of the profound influence of Indigenous women on the beginning of the women’s rights movement in the United States. (Women Make Movies, 2020, dir. Katsitsionni Fox)
Explore films from the Duke Libraries to educate yourself about the significant contributions Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have made to U.S. culture, and as a reminder of ongoing challenges they face, along with the anti-racist work that we have yet to do.
Directed by Celine Parreñas Shimizu, 2021
The Celine Archive Streaming video – Duke netid/password required The Celine Archive is simultaneously an act of journalism, a journey into family and community memory and archives, a love poem, a story of grief and trauma, and a séance for the buried history of Filipino-Americans. Filmmaker and scholar Celine Parreñas Shimizu artfully weaves together her own story of grief with the story of the tragic death of Celine Navarro, which has become lore. In 1932, Navarro was buried alive by her own community of Filipino-Americans in Northern California, but the circumstances surrounding her death were and are unclear and have oft been spun, sensationalized, and dramatized. The filmmaker, a grieving mother with ties to the same community, finds resonance with Navarro’s memory and long-lost story, and she sets out to first learn — and then tell — the truth about Navarro’s death, ultimately portraying her as a feminist heroine.
PBS, 2020
Asian Americans Lilly DVD 33607 | Streaming video – Duke netid/password required
Asian Americans is a five-hour film PBS series that delivers a bold, fresh perspective on a history that matters today, more than ever. As America becomes more diverse, and more divided, while facing unimaginable challenges, how do we move forward together? Told through intimate and personal lives, the series will cast a new lens on U.S. history and the ongoing role that Asian Americans have played in shaping the nation’s story.
PBS, 2018
The Chinese Exclusion Act DVD 31536 | Streaming video – Duke netid/password required
This American Experience documentary examines the origin, history and impact of the 1882 law that made it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America and for Chinese nationals already here ever to become U.S. citizens. The first in a long line of acts targeting the Chinese for exclusion, it remained in force for more than 60 years.
dir. by Puhipau and Joan Lander, 2005
Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege
Streaming video – Duke netid/password required
Inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for 2020. Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege paints a portrait of a mountain that has become a symbol of the Hawaiian struggle for physical, cultural and political survival. The program explores conflicting forces as they play themselves out in a contemporary island society where cultures collide daily. In an effort to find commonalities among indigenous people elsewhere regarding sacred mountains, the documentary visits Apache elders of Arizona who face the reality of telescope development on their revered mountain, Dzil Nchaa Si An, known as Mt. Graham.
directed by Renee Tajima-Peña, 1996
My America, or Honk if you Love Buddha Lilly DVD 33771
The director of Who Killed Vincent Chin? takes to the road to see what it means to be Asian American in our rapidly-changing society.
Directed by Christine Choy and Renee Tajima, 1990
Who Killed Vincent Chin? Lilly DVD 28025 | Streaming video – Duke netid/password required
This Academy-Award nominated film is a powerful statement about racism in working-class America. It relates the stark facts of Vincent Chin’s brutal murder. Outrage filled the Asian-American community, after his accused murderer received a suspended sentence and a small fine, to the point where they organized an unprecedented civil rights protest. His bereaved mother, brought up to be self-effacing, successfully led a nationwide crusade for a retrial. This tragic story is interwoven with the whole fabric of timely social concerns. It addresses issues such as the failure of our judicial system to value every citizen’s rights equally, the collapse of the automobile industry under pressure from Japanese imports, and the souring of the American dream for the blue collar worker.
Asian and Asian American Film
Looking for Feature Films and more?
Lilly Library’s collection of feature films about Asian American and Pacific Islanders is rich and deep! Classic films, romantic comedies, family dramas, etc., created by Asians and Asian Americans are available to entertain and inspire you.
Discover the Duke Libraries’ collection of DVDs and streaming video platforms to watch Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell, Joy Luck Club , The Namesake and Minari along with a host of other great movies.
Streaming Access available via Duke netid/password.
April 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). To commemorate the anniversary, we’re highlighting powerful films in Lilly Library’s collection that illuminate and interrogate this urgent, essential issue.
On the Record (2020, dirs. Kirby Dick & Amy Ziering)
On the Record(2020, dirs. Kirby Dick & Amy Ziering)
streaming video | Duke netid/password required On the Record presents the haunting story of former A&R executive Drew Dixon, whose career and personal life were upended by the alleged abuse she faced from her high-profile male bosses. The documentary follows Dixon as she grapples with her decision to become one of the first women of color, in the wake of #MeToo, to come forward to publicly accuse hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct.
Primas (2018, dir. Laura Bari)
Primas (2018, dir. Laura Bari) Lilly DVD 32294
Primas is an evocative and poetic portrait of two Argentine teenage cousins who come of age together as they overcome the heinous acts of violence that interrupted their childhoods.
The Bystander Moment (2018, dir. Jackson Katz)
The Bystander Moment: Transforming Rape Culture at its Roots(2018, dir. Jeremy Earp)
streaming video | Duke netid/password required
The #MeToo movement has shined much-needed light on the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and abuse and created unprecedented demand for gender violence prevention models that actually work. The Bystander Momenttells the story of one of the most prominent and proven of these models – the innovative bystander approach developed by pioneering scholar and activist Jackson Katz and his colleagues at Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society in the 1990s. Check out this and other films on gender violence prevention in the Media Education Foundation collection.
Breaking Silence: a Film (2017, dir. Nadya Ali)
Breaking Silence: a Film (2017, dir. Nadya Ali) Lilly DVD 31056
In Breaking Silence: a Film, Three Muslim women share their stories of sexual assault–and, in a deeply personal way, they challenge the stigma that has long suppressed the voice of survivors. Throughout America, many Muslim communities persist in stigmatizing all discussion of sex-related subjects. This documentary takes a radical and humanizing approach to the emotional scars of sexual assault, giving women the space to share their voices without shame.
And coming soon to Lilly’s film collection: SISTERS RISING, a powerful feature documentary about six Native American women reclaiming personal and tribal sovereignty. Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault than all other American women, federal studies have shown, with one in three Native women reporting having been raped during her lifetime. Their stories shine an unflinching light on righting injustice on both an individual and systemic level.
When Valentine’s Day approaches many of us conjure images of chocolate and flowers. However 2021 has been anything but a conventional year. As Duke Libraries’ Librarian for Film, Video & Digital Media I would like to highlight three movies that reveal an unconventional side of love.
My Name is Khan 2010, ((dir. Karan Johar)
Rizvan Khan is an Indian Muslim man with Asperger’s Syndrome who falls in love with a Hindu woman in the United States, post-9/11. This feature film depicts the resentment that ordinary, law-abiding Muslims felt about their treatment by fellow Americans and delivers a strong message that Hindus and Muslims should work together against the common enemies of extremism and intolerance. With a running time of 245 minutes, settle in for a long night of viewing pleasure. (Lilly DVD 17475 and streaming online for Duke users)
Invitation to Dance (2014, dirs. Simi Linton and Christian von Tippelskirch)
At age 23, Simi Linton was injured while hitchhiking to Washington, D.C. to protest the war in Vietnam. As a young college student, newly disabled, she confronted unimaginable discrimination. Years before the Americans with Disabilities Act was conceived, Linton emerges in Invitation to Dance as a resourceful activist, and in time realizes that love, sexuality, and dance can once again become a part of her life. (Lilly DVD 27418 and streaming online for Duke users)
CinemAbility: the Art of Inclusion (2018, dir. Jenni Gold)
Directed by Jenni Gold, the first female wheelchair-using member of the Directors Guild of America, CinemAbility explores how disability has been portrayed on screen in Hollywood over the past 120 years. Nearly all characters in film and television have been played by abled actors, leaving our collective perception of disability skewed. Gold interviews abled and disabled people from in front of and behind the camera to dissect and examine the history of representation. (Lilly DVD 32937 and streaming online for Duke users) Code of the Freaks (2020, dir. Salome Chasnoff) is another compelling documentary that focuses on these issues.
(Streaming online for Duke users)
Lilly Library has hundreds of horror filmsfor your seasonal dis-pleasure. Don’t be timid. Check one out…if you DARE!!!
A sampling of our Halloween movies is available as a virtual handout. Request DVDs of vintage vampire flicks, modern monster tales and Asian psychological scarers alongside musicals, comedies and silent era classics. Check them out the old-fashioned way, using Library Takeout for an extra- spooky experience.
Here’s a chilling challenge: watch all the titles listed on the handout by 11/30 and receive a FREE devilDVD!
As an added bonus, Duke faculty, Neal Bell’s recently published book, How to Write a Horror Movie,is coming online soon … stay in a state of suspended animation or, better yet, R.I.P.!
In the words of Duke President, Vincent Price, “In recognition of Juneteenth’s message of liberation from oppression, and out of respect for the anger, sadness, exhaustion, and courage of our Black friends and neighbors, this Friday, June 19, will be a day of reflection for the entire Duke community.”
To facilitate this collective action, the Duke University Libraries offers access to streaming videos that reflect the African-American experience. The list here is not exhaustive, but rather provides a window into the many resources available to the Duke community for us to self-enrich and grow as lifelong learners.
bell hooks Cultural Criticism & Transformation (prod. Media Education Foundation, 1997)
bell hooks: Cultural Criticism & Transformation (MEF documentary in Kanopy) bell hooks is one of America’s most accessible public intellectuals. In this two-part video, extensively illustrated with many of the images under analysis, she makes a compelling argument for the transformative power of cultural criticism.
Ethnic Notions (dir. Marlon Riggs, 1986)
Ethnic Notions (California Newsreel documentary in AVON and FOD)
Directed by Marlon Riggs, this Emmy award-winning documentary analyzes the deep-rooted stereotypes which have shaped the evolution of racial consciousness in America.
Killer of Sheep (dir. Charles Burnett, 1977)
Killer of Sheep (feature film in AVON)
Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep was one of the first 50 films to be selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry and was chosen by the National Society of Film Critics as one of the 100 Essential Films. The protagonist, employed at the slaughterhouse, is suffering from the emotional side effects of his bloody occupation to such a degree that his entire life unhinges.
Through a Lens Darkly (prod. First Run Features, 2015)
Through a Lens Darkly (First Run Features documentary in AVONand FOD)
The first documentary to explore the American family photo album through the eyes of black photographers, Through a Lens Darkly probes the recesses of American history to discover images that have been suppressed, forgotten and lost.
Traffic Stop (dir. Kate Davis, 2018)
Traffic Stop (HBO documentary in FOD)
This haunting and compelling Academy Award®-nominated, 30-minute, documentary short tells the story of Breaion King, a 26-year-old African-American school teacher from Austin, Texas, who was stopped in 2015 for a routine traffic violation-an encounter that escalated into a dramatic and violent arrest.
Unnatural Causes (prod. California Newsreel, 2008)
Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?(PBS documentary in AVON and FOD) This series offers an overview of the ways that racial and economic inequality are not abstract concepts but hospitalize and kill even more people each year than cigarettes. The segment on the impact of racism on African American infant mortality is particularly compelling.
The Loving Story (dir. Nancy Buirsi, 2011)
The Loving Story (HBO documentary in Docuseek)
Oscar-shortlist selection THE LOVING STORY, the debut feature by Full Frame Documentary Film Festival founder Nancy Buirski, is the definitive account of Loving v. Virginia-the landmark 1967 Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage.
Compiled by Danette Pachtner Librarian for Film, Video, & Digital Media and Women’s Studies
H2Omx – Best Documentary Feature Film (Mexican Academy of Cinematography 2015)
Docuseek, a streaming video platform of high quality documentary films, is showing its support for continuing education during the COVID-19 crisis by offering 12 films for free online streaming starting today through May 1. The theme of all 12 titles is sustainability centered around the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day and includes new films as well as popular classics.
The first documentary film to be screened is How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change by Josh Fox. Traveling to 12 countries on 6 continents, the film acknowledges that it may be too late to stop some of the worst consequences and asks, what is it that climate change can’t destroy? What is so deep within us that no calamity can take it away?
Come Hell or High Water: the Battle for Turkey Creek
Don’t worry if you miss a date, you will be able to access films released on previous days until May 1st. For more online viewing, check out the Duke Libraries’ streaming video* offerings of subscription and licensed films.
The True Cost – an investigation of “fast” fashion
*Note: access to these titles are limited to current Duke students, staff and faculty.
Lilly Library’s March Movie MaDnEsS: The Final Four Superhero Films
Survive and advance – that should resonate with our Duke Crazies! Did your superhero Movie advance to the Fantastic Four?
Take that Fantastic Four to a Dynamic Duo – Vote HERE now!
Bracketologist Nathaniel Brown
Lilly’s March Movie Madness Expert Bracketologist, Nathaniel Brown, offers a recap of the epic battle waged between the remaining Exteme Eight Films:
In the Metropolis region, although Captain America did upset the hometown boy in the first round, he couldn’t handle the family of animated heroes! Jack-Jack, who’s really coming into his powers, overwhelmed the First Avenger and helped his Incredible family destroy Captain America: Civil War116-48!
The Black Panther continued to take care of Wakanda business as he thrashed all five of the Guardians with the tally of 108-56!
Spider-Man: into the Spider-Verse overtook Wonder Woman and dethroned the first-born child of the Paradise Isle, defeating her 90-74!
And in a shocker, Thor’s mighty hammer, Mjolnir, struck a fatal blow and edged the Dark Knight out of Gotham—and out of the Extreme Eight round— 84-80!
And then there were Four
Reminder: Round 3 voting
ends Thursday March 28th at noon.
Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still get your scare on!
Check out Lilly Library’s collection spotlight on books and movies that celebrate Frankenstein’s 200th birthday and comprise a ghoulish grouping of truly terrifying titles….
Lilly’s collections include books on philosophy and ethics, graphic novels, art and visual studies, and film. To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s enduring tale, Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus, both Lilly and Perkins are highlighting their titles on the subject. At Lilly we’ve thrown in additional scary movies to add to the horror. Enjoy the holiday chills!
The American Dance Festival kicked off its 41st year in Durham this June 2018. Lilly Libraryis celebrating with an exhibit and collection spotlight highlighting our diverse range of books and films related to dance.
Duke University Libraries house the ADF Archives, including its Moving Images Collection of approximately 2,000 films and videos from 1930 to the present. These videos capture dance classes, panels, performances, discussions, showings, interviews and special events. Many can be viewed on-site in Lilly. Stop by and check us out!
ADF Extra:
Saturdays in June and July, view Movies By Movers, at the Nasher Museum of Art and White Lecture Hall on Duke’s East Campus. This ADF series is a bi-annual festival dedicated to the celebration of body and the camera. A full screening schedule can be found here.
To celebrate Women’s History Month 2018, Lilly Library is shining a spotlight on Women in Sport. Books and movies that feature women athletes are “teeming” in our collections. Come to East Campus and check out this month’s Lilly Collection Spotlight. Click here for the complete line-up.
While you’re at Lilly, visit the exhibit in the foyer, On the Field, the Courts and Beyond: Women in Sports – TITLE IX, that complements our Lilly Collection Spotlight.
Based on the Instagram account @TheUnsungHeroines, a celebration of the pioneering, forgotten female athletes of the twentieth century that features rarely seen photos and new interviews with past and present game changers including Abby Wambach and Cari Champion.
2016 | Sarah Shephard
There’s a battle being fought. It’s raging on the sports fields, in the newsrooms and behind the scenes at every major broadcaster. Women in sport are fighting for equality with more vigour than ever, but are they breaking down the barriers that stand in their way? Sarah Shephard looks behind the headlines to see whether progress is really being made and tells the stories that can no longer be ignored. It’s time for women to switch their focus from the battlefield to the sports field, once and for all.
2007 | Cecil Harris and Larryette Kyle-DeBose
Beginning with the Williams sisters, the authors examine the foundation of their development as tennis phenoms during the 1990s and the prophetic yet unabashed approach of their coach, father, and sports psychologist, Richard Williams, in crafting a world within which they would be groomed to be successful. a compelling examination of the impact of African Americans on the world of professional tennis and the various challenges and outcomes of that involvement.
2015 | Nicholas ChareFILMS
An overview of films about women in sport and a timely critical analysis of their role in shaping perceptions of female athletic ability. It examines themes of aggression, beauty, class, ethnicity, physical feminism, sexuality, synaesthesia and technology in relation to mainstream and arthouse cinematic depictions of sportswomen from Pumping Iron 2 to Bend it Like Beckham.
2004 | Bruce Schoenfeld
50 years ago when Gibson and Buxton were two of the top women’s tennis players in the world. Coming from widely divergent backgrounds (Gibson from a poor black family in Harlem, Buxton from a well-to-do Jewish family in London), the two hooked up in the mid-1950s and became tennis partners and lifelong friends.
2015 | ed. Alex Channon
Offers a wide-reaching overview of current academic research on women’s participation in combat sports within a wide range of different national and trans-national contexts, detailing many of the struggles and opportunities experienced by women at various levels of engagement within sports such as boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts.
During the 2006 Iran-Bahrain match, the Tehran soccer stadium roars with 100,000 cheering men and, officially, no women. According to Islamic custom, women are not permitted to watch or participate in men’s sports. Many of the ambitious young female fans who manage to sneak into the arena are caught and sent to a holding pen, guarded by male soldiers their own age. Duty makes these young men and women adversaries, but duty can’t overcome their shared dreams, their mutual attraction, and ultimately their overriding sense of national pride and humanity.
DVD 21482 and Streaming Video
Examines the post Title IX media environment in terms of the representation of female athletes. It demonstrates that while men’s identities in sports are equated with deeply held values of courage, strength and endurance, the accomplishments of female athletes are framed very differently and in much more stereotypical ways.
DVD 11362
A promising hurdler, played by Mariel Hemingway, finds needed emotional and athletic seasoning with a caring mentor. After the two fall in love, their relationship is threatened as both vie for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.
DVD 25223 and streaming video
Members of the Cuban National Women’s Baseball Team discuss their passion for the sport and hardships they faced in Cuba’s society filled with machismo, prejudice and daily hardships.
DVD 6270
The story of the surviving members of the Viennese Hakoah sports club women’s swim team, a world-dominating competitor in the 1930s. The club was eventually shut down during Hitler’s reign, though all the women managed to escape capture. Combines historical footage and contemporary interviews to reconnect the women’s lives and memories.
DVD 5579
The new man in town has just accepted a position as an English professor on a reservation in Utah. Finding it hard to fit in with the Native American community, he decides to take on the challenge of coaching the girls’ basketball team.
DVD 18946
Bliss Cavender is a small-town teenager looking for her own path. Tired of following in her family’s footsteps, she discovers a way to put her life on the fast track–literally. She lands a spot on a roller derby team and becomes “Babe Ruthless.” Co-starring Drew Barrymore in her feature film directorial debut.
With the advent of the smartphone and social media platforms like Instagram, photography has suffused our daily lives. You may shoot a pic of the Duke Chapel on the way to an early morning class, take a photo of your lunch at West Union, and get a snapchat vista from your friend on vacation in the mountains. If you’re obsessed with images, we’ve got you covered with this month’s Collection Spotlight at Lilly Library! Check out the wide range of photography books and films on display.
Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs
Adams, whose work was recently featured in an exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art, was one of the most celebrated landscape photographers of the Twentieth Century, renowned for his black and white depictions of the stunning scenery of the American West. This book collects photographs from across his multi-decade career. Recommended if you’re craving a reminder of the sublime beauty of the outdoors.
Toy Stories by Gabriele Galimberti
In this unique collection, photographer Gabriele Galimberti traveled around the world photographing children and their toys, spending thirty months on the road and visiting fifty-eight different countries. These striking photographs are fun, but also illuminate the social, economic, and gender issues that surround what toys children grow up with. Recommended if you’re missing your childhood room.
The Beautiful Smile by Nan Goldin
This collection, released on the occasion of Goldin’s 2007 Hasselblad Award, features intimate, diaristic photographs and portraits. Rising to fame as a member and chronicler of the LGBTQ subculture in 1980s and 1990s New York City, Goldin includes both photos from that era and newer works in this book. Recommended if you’re looking for photography that captures both the beauty and fragility of life.
Chromes: 1969-1974 by William Eggleston
One of our personal favorite photographers, Eggleston photographed “ordinary” objects and people around the South and his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Eggleston’s work in color helped legitimize the form in a field that was previously dominated by black and white photography. Recommended if you’re a Big Star fan and/or enjoy photos of old gas stations.
And don’t forget that Lilly has a great collection of films you can borrow.
La Jetee (1962)
Since its release in 1962, Chris Marker’s La Jetée has emerged as one of the foundational texts of postwar European cinema. With its rhythmic editing, nostalgic voiceover and parade of black-and-white images, La Jetée exercises a hypnotic effect on its viewers. This short, experimental ‘photo-roman’ stays with you long after its 29 minutes are over.
Lilly DVD 6054
Pecker (1999)
John Waters’ film about a budding Baltimore photographer. Pecker (he got the nickname for pecking at his food as a child) photographs the mundane sights of his Baltimore neighborhood: the hamburger joint where he works, rats making love in the alley behind the diner, the oddball characters in his family, and the dancers in the local lesbian strip club.
Lilly DVD 29861
City of God (2002)
This movie takes place in the favelas or slums of Rio de Janeiro created to isolate the poor people from the city center. They have grown into places teeming with life, color, music and excitement–and with danger. One of the characters, Rocket, obtains a stolen camera that he treasures and takes pictures from his privileged position as a kid on the streets.
Lilly DVD 20755
Our feelings took the pictures: Open Shutters Iraq (2008)
Iraq-born Maysoon Pachachi’s film documents a project in which a group of women refugees from five cities in Iraq living in Syria learn to take photographs and present their lives to each other. Accompanying book is in Perkins Library.
Lilly DVD 26643
Through a lens darkly: black photographers and the emergence of a people (2014)
Filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris offers what he calls a “family memoir” via historical images of African Americans initially through popular and disturbing stereotypes such as those portrayed in D.W. Griffith’s classic 1915 film Birth of a Nation to more realistic and poignant photographs. Using a series of narrative images by African American photographic artists including Anthony Barboza, Hank Willis Thomas, Lorna Simpson, and Gordon Parks, among others, Harris sheds light on a seldom-told aspect of our culture.
As you can see, Lilly Library offers a wide range of books and film about the art, science and history of photography which we hope you will enjoy.
It’s Women’s History Month! Spend this March 2016 watching wonderful films created by talented women from around the world.
The Video Spotlight on Women Filmmakers, created by Lilly Library’s own audio-visual specialist and film aficionado, Ken Wetherington, can give you great ideas of where to start.
In recent years women in film have begun to be slightly better recognized, like Katheryn Bigelow’s oscar-winning direction (the only time for a woman!) of The Hurt Locker.
But did you know that in the early days of cinema, many women were powerful creative forces? Movies like Lois Weber’s Suspense, The Ocean Waifby Alice Guy Blaché and Cleo Madison’s Eleanor’s Catch,and other women pioneers of early cinema, can be viewed in Duke Libraries’ new subscription database, Kanopy Streaming Video.
Check out Lilly’s foyer display exhibiting films by women in the history of cinema. Some of the titles just may surprise you…
Lilly Library has hundreds of horror filmsfor your seasonal dis-pleasure. Don’t be timid. Check one out…if you DARE!!!
A sampling of our Halloween movies is available as a handout at the Lilly main desk. Try vintage vampire flicks, modern monster tales and Asian psychological scarers alongside musicals, comedies and silent era classics.
Here’s a chilling challenge: watch all the titles listed on the handout by 10/31 and receive a FREE devilDVD!
As part of the Class of 2018 First-Year Library Experience the East Campus Libraries – Lilly and Music – will screen the Disney Pixar movie, The Incredibles,under the stars. Dash over to East Campus, bring a blanket (no capes!) and meet Incredible Librarians in action.
What: The Incredibles Film Showing
When: Thursday, September 25th at 8pm
Where: Outside on the East Campus Quad Rain venue: Nelson Music Room, East Duke Building
Brought to you by…
your INCREDIBLE East Campus Libraries
& Devils After Dark
The 2014 season of the American Dance Festival has now kicked off with fabulous performances through July 16th. See Dance and Visual Studies Librarian, Lee Sorensen’s, excellent post for more info about the ADF.
To help you get your groove on, check out dance-themed highlights from Lilly Library’s film/video collection. Video Spotlight: Dance on Film.
And if our spotlight whets your appetite, search from a larger selection of dance DVDs in Lilly Library to keep you tripping the light fantastic all summer long.
Lilly Library has great films featuring action heroines. Go ahead, make her day –
Check out these heroines and their sisters in action in the Lilly Video Spotlight!
La Femme Nikita (1990)
La Femme Nikita (DVD 8982) A cop-killer junkie (Anne Parillaud) is forced by the government to become an undercover assassin or face a life in prison.
Brave (DVD 22979) Princess Merida, an archer and self-reliant young woman, makes a decision which defies custom and brings chaos to her kingdom. To restore her kingdom, she must discover her bravery and inner strength.
Alien (DVD 3311) Terror begins when the crew of a spaceship investigates a transmission from a desolate planet and discovers a life form that is perfectly evolved to annihilate mankind.
News, Events, and Exhibits from Duke University Libraries
