Miscellaneous
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American Tongues (DVD – 56 mines.) This DVD is part 20 years of independent
point-of-view (POV) documentary storytelling on PBS. “American Tongues” (winner – George
Foster Peabody Award) embarks on a cross-country sojourn to delve into
American English in all its diversity and color. By looking at how regional
dialects
are shaped by culture and geography, the film shows how we in turn
are shaped both by our own speech and by our attitudes towards the ways
others speak.
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America’s Multicultural Heritage (DVD – 26 mins. – Study
Guide Questions/Answers)
The United States has been called a “melting pot” because
of the various cultural backgrounds of its inhabitants. A variety
of multicultural influences are examined in this program.
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Best Boy (DVD - ) This DVD is part 20 years of independent point-of-view
(POV) documentary storytelling on PBS. This story (winner – Academy
Award Best Documentary Feature) follows Philly Whol, a cheerful
and loveable 52 year old man who has been mentally handicapped since
birth and still
lives with his parents. When his cousin, filmmaker Ira Wohl,
questions what will happen to Philly once his elderly parents can
no longer care
for him, the family embarks on a mission to help Philly become
more independent. At once funny and heartbreaking, the film is a
profoundly touching story
of love, overwhelming courage, and human dignity.
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Chances of the World Changing, The (DVD – 99 mins.) This DVD is
part 20 years of independent point-of-view (POV) documentary storytelling
on PBS. Fueled by abiding love for saving endangered animals, Richard
Ogust abandons his life as a writer to build a fragile ark that is constantly
on the brink of capsizing. THE CHANCES OF THE WORLD CHANGING (Full
Frame Documentary Film Festival Official Selection) is a poetic, graceful film
about a man who sacrifices nearly everything in his quest to preserve
some of the planet’s nearly extinct turtle species. Pressed
into bureaucracy and the needs of his 1200-plus turtles, Ogust is
in a furious
race against time to save his turtles-and himself. The film is
an extraordinary stand to make people think about what we may lose
and what we choose to
preserve.
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Dark Circle (DVD – 82 mins.) This DVD is part 20 years of independent
point-of-view (POV) documentary storytelling on PBS. Denounced by officials
and shunned by broadcasters when it was first released in 1982, “Dark
Circle” (winner Emmy Ward Outstanding Individual
Achievement in News & Documentary) offers an unyielding look at the potential
devastation that nuclear power can cause. Through personal accounts
and rarely seen
archival footage, the film follows the trail of plutonium from
the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons facility in Colorado, to the Diablo
Canyon Nuclear
Power Plant in California, to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
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Frosh (DVD – 98 mins. – Facilitator’s Guide)
Join a diverse group of freshmen living in Stanford’s co-ed, multicultural
residence hall for their first-year experience. These freshmen face age-old
student problems such as alcohol, drugs, dating, grade anxiety, and work
overload. But they also face new issues like multiculturalism, “hate
speech” codes and gender confusion.
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Leona’s Sister Gerri (DVD – 75 mins.) This DVD is part 20
years of independent point-of-view (POV) documentary storytelling on PBS.
The grisly photograph of a naked woman on a motel floor, dead after an
illegal abortion, stirred a nation and inflamed a movement. “Leona's
Sister Gerri” (New Directors/New Film Official Selection) tells
the powerful story of the anonymous woman behind the image and
how she became an extraordinary icon in the debate over abortion.
Family and friends
recount the life of Gerri Santoro, who grew up on the family farm,
married young and had two children. The film explores the circumstances
that led
to her tragic death in 1964 when abortion was illegal.
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One Survivor Remembers (DVD & VHS kit – 38 mins.)
The story of Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein. Just 15 years
old when the Nazis invaded Poland, she endured six years under Nazi
rule, ending in a harrowing 350 mile death march. She survived, but
her family and friends did not; the Nazis had taken all but her life.
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Sexual Stereotypes (DVD - )
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Silverlake Life: The View From Here (DVD – 99 mins.) This DVD is
part 20 years of independent point-of-view (POV) documentary storytelling
on PBS. Winner of over 10 international awards, “Silverlake Life:
The View from Here” (winner – Prix Italia Award) is an extraordinary
video diary of living with AIDS. This landmark film documents, with guts
and with humor, the love and dedication of longtime companions Tom Joslin
and Mark Massi. From the emotional challenge of living with a fatal illness
to the frustration of maintaining daily routines once considered simple, “Silverlake
Life: The View from Here” is an incredible journey that is ultimately
a celebration of the strength of the human spirit.
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Taking on the Kennedy’s (DVD – 54 mins.) This DVD is part
20 years of independent point-of-view (POV) documentary storytelling on
PBS. A thrilling provocative modern-day David vs. Goliath battle set in
the amphitheater of American politics, this sharply witty and brilliant
concise film peeks into the “brutal circus” of contemporary
political warfare. In 1994, practicing physician Kevin Vigilante, a Rhode
Island Republican who had never held office, challenged Democratic favorite
son Patrick Kennedy for a U.S. House seat representing the fifth most
Democratic District in the nation…and nearly won. With unrestricted
access to the candidates, filmmaker Joshua Seftel presents a hard-hitting
deconstruction of political campaigns and powerful dynasties.
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Well-Founded Fear (DVD – 120 mins. – Facilitator’s
Guide) This DVD is part 20 years of independent point-of-view (POV) documentary
storytelling on PBS. Evocative, captivating and utterly unforgettable, “Well-Founded
Fear” candidly explores the proceedings behind the American political
asylum system. Who is deemed worthy of political asylum in the United
States? Who decides? and why? To be granted asylum, applicants must demonstrate
a "well-founded fear" that their lives would be endangered were
they to be deported. Filmmakers Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson enter
the closed corridors of the INS to reveal the dramatic real-life stage
where human rights and American ideals collide with the nearly impossible
task of trying to know the truth. Shot over five years, “Well-Founded
Fear” marked the first time in history that filmmakers were
give access to individuals on both sides of the interrogation desk,
offering
an in-depth perspective of both sides of the asylum process.
Educational rights for showing have been purchased