The American Library Association ( ALA) Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults Committee has compiled its 2011 list of Notable Videos for Adults, a list of 15 outstanding programs released on video within the past two years and suitable for all libraries serving adults. Its purpose is to call attention to recent video releases that make a significant contribution to the world of video recordings.
The Notable Videos for Adults committee selected 15 outstanding titles from among 55 nominees for this year’s list of Notable Videos for Adults. The Committee would like to also recognize the DVD release of the 1977 groundbreaking documentary “Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives.”
The Art of the Steal
101 minutes. MPI Home Video. DVD, 2010: $24.98. Available from most distributors.
The battle to keep the Barnes Foundation’s one-of-a-kind art collection intact amid public and private bids for acquisition.
Blacking Up: Hip-hop’s Remix of Race and Identity
57 minutes. California Newsreel. DVD, 2010. College, Corporation, Gov’t Agency: $195.00. High Schools, Public Libraries, etc.: $49.95. http://newsreel.org/
A film that explores the controversial issues surrounding white participation in hip-hop.
Budrus
82 minutes. ro*co films, DVD, 2010: $295.00 (Universities and Colleges), $95.00 (K-12 version). http://www.rocoeducational.com/store/
Triumphant chronicle of the citizens of Budrus, a village in the occupied Palestinian territories, and their nonviolent struggle to prevent the Israeli government from building a fence that would separate them from their ancestral homes and olive trees, their main source of income.
Food, Inc.
91 minutes. Magnolia Home Entertainment. DVD, 2009: $19.98. Available from most distributors.
The effects of multi-national corporations’ control on the international food chain.
Garbage Dreams
79 minutes. Cinema Guild. DVD, 2009: $295.00. http://cinemaguild.com/
An incredible story of how an Egyptian community whose economy is based on collecting and recycling garbage adapts to the arrival of modern trash collection companies.
Herb & Dorothy
87 minutes. New Video Group. DVD, 2010: $29.99. Available from most distributors.
Using solely their own salaries, a postal worker and librarian select, collect and ultimately donate one of the best modern art collections in history.
Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture
97 minutes. Whitecap Films, Inc. DVD, 2010: $325.00 (Universities, colleges, and high schools). http://louissullivanfilm.com/
By tracing Louis Sullivan’s life and work from the late 19th to the early 20th century, this film emphasizes the ways Sullivan related architecture to nature and to social values in an effort to create a uniquely American architecture.
Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women
84 minutes. Nancy Porter Productions. DVD, 2010: $225.00 (Universities, Colleges & Institutions), $69.95 (High Schools, Public Libraries Select Groups). http://www.louisamayalcott.net
A lively biography of an independent woman with ideas ahead of her time who supported her impoverished family by writing romantic fiction and creating some of the most beloved characters in American literature.
The Other Side of Immigration
55 minutes. Team Love Records. DVD, 2010: $19.99. Available from most distributors.
Individuals from the Mexican countryside tell their own stories about the reasons people leave Mexico, and the effects immigration has on the families who remain behind.
Marwencol
83 minutes. Cinema Guild. DVD, 2010: $350.00. http://cinemaguild.com/
Following a near fatal beating, Mark Hogancamp rehabilitated himself by creating the incredibly detailed doll-sized World War II era town of Marwencol.
Sin by Silence
49 minutes. Women Make Movies. DVD, 2009: $325.00 (Universities, Colleges & Institutions), $159.00 (K-12, Public Libraries & Select Groups). http://www.wmm.com/
Courageous first person accounts of the members of Convicted Women Against Abuse as they confront their violent past.
Two Spirits
52 minutes. http://twospirits.org DVD $17.99 (home use), Cinema Guild. DVD, 2010: $350.00. http://cinemaguild.com/
Explores the contrast between the Navajo culture’s traditional acceptance of multi-gendered people and current gender bias through the story of hate crime victim Fred Martinez.
Under Our Skin
104 minutes. Shadow Distribution. DVD, 2009: $34.99 (Home Use), $249.00 (Universities & Institutions), $85.00 (Community Groups & Non-profits). http://www.underourskin.com/store.html
A probing analysis of the controversial long term effects of Lyme disease, and the medical profession’s response to it.
A Village Called Versailles
67 minutes. Walking Iris Films. DVD, 2009: $24.95. Available through most distributors. New Day Films: $275.00 (Institutions: Colleges and Universities), $95.00 (Community Groups, Public Libraries, High Schools). http://www.newday.com/
A Vietnamese American community fights for their section of New Orleans, Versailles, in the devastating aftermath of Katrina.
We Live in Public
90 minutes. Indiepix Films. DVD, 2010: $24.95. Available from most distributors.
A biography of 1990s web entrepreneur Josh Harris, whose experiments with 24/7 life on camera would foresee the social changes brought by social media and the web.
Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives
132 minutes. Oscilloscope Laboratories. DVD, 2010: $29.99. Available from most distributors.
Remastered from the original 35mm film in high definition, this documentary presents the candid thoughts and experiences of gay and lesbian people in the United States and the emerging gay rights movement of the 1970s. DVD extras include an update on the subjects of the film.
Please note that some titles are available in streaming media formats.
The Notable Videos for Adults Committee includes:
- Laura Jenemann, George Mason University (chair)
- Julia Churchill, Oak Lawn Public Library
- Nora Dimmock, University of Rochester
- Mary Hanlin, Tidewater Community College
- Tom Ipri, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Carleton Jackson, University of Maryland Libraries
- Tracy Montri, Toledo-Lucas County Public Library
- Sam Readman, Miami-Dade Public Library
- Joan Skowronski, Hillsborough County Library, Fla.