Hello Faculty,

Here we are at the mid-way point of the semester and I hope things are going well for you. I hate to rush to the end of the semester, but if there are films your students will need to watch for extra credit or for their final exam please let me know so that I can make sure those films are available for everyone in your class.

Also, I am excited to announce the creation of the Film Browsing Collection. This will be located in front of the elevators on the Main floor of the library and will consist of feature films. The DVDs will be held by the Circulation Department and can be checked out from there at any time. These films will still be able to be booked in advance and sent to your office or placed on reserve for your class. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Amy

Wonders of the African World  

Most of Africa's rich history has been forgotten by the outside world, overshadowed by images of war, poverty, and famine. Now Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes a fresh look at the history of the continent. In a series of engaging personal journeys on the trail of great civilizations, cities and centers of learning established long before the arrival of Europeans, he reveals an Africa most people never knew existed.

If you know of a new film that you would like us to add to the collection please send me an e-mail  including the title, director, year, and any other information that will help in finding the film.

America Beyond the Color Line  

Gates travels to the east coast, the deep South, inner city Chicago, and Hollywood to investigate modern Black America and interview influential Americans including Colin Powell, Quincy Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Alicia Keys, Maya Angelou, Willie Herenton and others.

Ann Arbor Film Festival Vol. 3 

The Ann Arbor Film Festival is the original independent film festival of North America -- established in 1963. The festival serves as a premier showcase for bold, pioneering, art driven films and engages audiences with talented independent filmmakers.

Change Comes Knocking: The Story of the North Carolina Fund 

Presents a snapshot of the creation of the Fund, one of the first bi-racial organizations in the South. The history of the North Carolina Fund encompasses 5 years of innovative and experimental actions, which also proved to be quite controversial. The NC Fund encouraged communities around the state to create local agencies called Community action Programs (CAPS), whose agendas would have to include input from low income people. The Fund gave a voice to people who had been disenfranchised, and in turn empowered them to make substantial changes in their lives and communities.

A Day in Warsaw 

Portrayal of Warsaw, Poland in 1938, emphasizing the buildings, institutions and neighborhoods associated with the 400,000 Jews living in Warsaw at that time. Yiddish Language Film

Designing Healthy Communities  

A public television multiple-media project providing a provocative and challenging view of the impact the built environment has on our public health -- how we live, where we live, and what we must change to improve the quality of life for individuals and communities.

Dream Girls 

A documentary film illustrating the ways that the all-female Takarazuka Music School and its annual musical revue reflect Japanese puritanism and sexual politics.

Drive 

Driver is a Hollywood stunt driver by day, and moonlights as a top-notch getaway driver for hire in the criminal underworld. He finds himself a target for some of LA's most dangerous men after agreeing to aid the husband of his beautiful neighbor, Irene. When the job goes dangerously awry, the only way he can keep Irene and her son alive is to do what he does best, Drive!

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 

Dramatization of the lives of Sarah and Annie Delany, sisters who lived past the age of 100.

Jewish Life in Bialystok 

Documents the commercial, industrial and cultural center of Białystok, Poland emphasizing the city's 200-year-old Jewish community. Yiddish Language Film

Jewish Life in Krakow 

Documents the commercial, industrial and cultural institutions of the Jewish community in pre-World War II Kraków. Yiddish Language Film

Jewish Life in Lwow 

Now known as L'vov, in Ukraine, this city is shown as it was in early 1939, the Polish City of Lwów. Focuses on the Jews, one third of the population in 1939, their institutions, and their way of life. Yiddish Language Film

Jewish Life in Vilna 

Film sequences of pre-World War II Vilnius document people engaged in the rituals and realities of everyday life: at work, at play, in school and in the synagogue. Yiddish Language Film

Time Pieces: Ann Arbor Film Festival Vol. 1

Independent, experimental and artistically-inspired films by individual filmmakers promoting the art of film shown at the Ann Arbor Film Festival.

Unexplored Territories: Ann Arbor Film Festival Vol. 2   

The Ann Arbor Film Festival is the original independent film festival of North America -- established in 1963. The festival serves as a premier showcase for bold, pioneering, art driven films and engages audiences with talented independent filmmakers.

A Veiled Revolution 

Egyptian women were the first Arab women to march in political demonstrations (1919), the first to take off their veils publicly (1923), and the first to receive free secular education (1924). But today the educated granddaughters of those early Arab feminists are returning to Islamic dress, complete with full face veil and gloves. A veiled revolution considers possible reasons for this turn back to tradition-- the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism, the rejection of western values-- as Egyptian women speak out.

Wonders of the African World 

Most of Africa's rich history has been forgotten by the outside world, overshadowed by images of war, poverty, and famine. Now Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes a fresh look at the history of the continent. In a series of engaging personal journeys on the trail of great civilizations, cities and centers of learning established long before the arrival of Europeans, he reveals an Africa most people never knew existed.