Dear Videolib Colleagues, Below is a 2012's list of "Notable Videos for Adults." Although, the list isn't yet posted on the Video Roundtable webpage, these are the final selections. For those of you who aren't familiar with the process: each year, from January to November recent documentaries are nominated (by pretty much any one) as a potentially "Notable" film. The chair of the committee contacts the distributors, asks for two hard copies and then the group mails those copies to one another. This past year, our 8 member committee watched 62 nominated documentaries, and at Midwinter we met for 8 continuous hours to identify 15 films that we feel would be an asset to all library collections. It's important to understand that most of the documentaries that we watched were amazing and that whittling down nominations is never a scientific or perfect process.
At the expense of a prolix email, I'd like to thank three groups: 1. The filmmakers: In trying to track down screeners, I often found myself communicating with the filmmakers themselves. These folks are gracious, passionate and fundamentally focused on a cause, not a profit. I really do see so many things differently -a plastic bottle, an orange, a cup of coffee- simply because a filmmaker cared enough to show me how to see things differently. 2. The distributors: Again, these folks were overwhelming supportive and responsive to my requests. I'd say, "No rush on video X," and then they'd FedEx me. I'd say, "We only need two copies," and they would send me four. Let's be honest: too often the relationship between librarians and distributors is sketched as antagonistic and tense. In reality, librarians know that what most video distributors do is a labor of love... that you too are struggling to pay your bills and keep your employees. I am fundamentally grateful that you believed is such amazing films and for making those films available to us. 3. My fellow committee members: We don't often use the word passion to describe our profession. Phrases like "evidence-based" or "information literacy" or "learning outcomes" are more commonly used to justify our existence. And yet, so often, we spend hours outside of work, working; we pay out-of-pocket for hotels and flights to sit in cold conference rooms and to talk about videos or books or more generally, how to better serve the people that we serve. I am grateful to have worked with an amazing group of passionate librarians and that I can describe our profession as one fraught with passion. This list is a small act, but I, and my fellow committee members are proud to share it with you. 2012 Notable Videos for Adults 1. A Film Unfinished. 90 minutes. Oscilloscope Laboratories. DVD. $19.99. Available from most distributors. Recently discovered footage sheds a new light on Nazi propaganda. 2. Freedom Riders. 120 minutes. 2011. PBS Home Video. DVD. $24.99. Available from most distributors. A group of white and black Civil Rights activists who traveled by bus together to challenge the segregated south through non-violent tactics. 3. Mugabe and the White African. 94 minutes. 2010. First Run Features. DVD. $27.99. Available from most distributors. A family of African farmers confront the Mugabe regime. 4. Battle for Brooklyn. 93 minutes. 2011. Rumor Films. DVD. $295 (Universities and Colleges), http://battleforbrooklyn.com/education Chronicles the fight against the Atlantic Yards Project which attempted to displace local residents for new development. 5. Hot Coffee. 86 minutes. 2011. Docurama. DVD. $29.99. Available from most distributors. A notorious cup of spilt coffee is pivotal to tort reform laws. 6. A Small Act. 88 minutes. 2011. Ro*co. DVD. $295 (Universities and Colleges) $95 (K-12). http://www.rocofilms.com/ A small gift from a Swedish schoolteacher has a life-long impact on a young Kenyan boy. 7. Catfish. 88 minutes. 2011. Universal Studios Home Entertainment. DVD. $19.99. Available from most distributors. Online woman of your dreams may not be what she appears. 8. Better This World. 89 minutes. 2011. Bullfrog Films. $295. (Universities and Colleges). www.bullfrogfilms.com<http://www.bullfrogfilms.com> Follows the lives of two political protesters accused of domestic terrorism during the 2008 Republican National Convention. 9. Neshoba: the price of freedom. 87 minutes. 2011. First Run Features. DVD. $27.99. Available from most distributors. Chronicles the long-awaited trial of Edgar Ray Killen and the slow healing process in the 1964 murder of three Civil Rights activists. 10. Bonecrusher. 72 minutes. 2010. New Day Films. DVD. $249 (Universities and Colleges)/Public libraries $119. www.newday.com<http://www.newday.com> An Appalachian coal miner follows in his father's footsteps. 11. The Labyrinth: The testimony of Marian Kołodziej. 37 minutes. 2011. December 2nd Productions. DVD. $99 public libraries and $190 (Universities and Colleges). http://thelabyrinthdocumentary.com/store.html Nearly fifty years after his internment in Auschwitz, Mariam Kolodziej crafts a series of haunting art. 12. The Flaw. 82 minutes. 2011. Bullfrog Films. $295 (Universities and Colleges). http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/ Traces how a major "flaw" in Greenspan's economic philosophy lead to the 2008 economic meltdown. 13. Iraq: War, Love, God and Madness. 83 minutes. 2011. Typecast Films. DVD. $300 (Universities, Colleges and Public). www.typecastfilms.com<http://www.typecastfilms.com> An Iraqi filmmaker tries to create the first feature film made in his homeland in years. 14. Jaffa: the orange's clockwork. 52 minutes. 2011. Trabelsi Productions. DVD. $29. http://www.trabelsiproductions.com/Jaffa.php Explores the history of Palestinians and Israelis using the symbol of the orange. 15. The Price of Sex. 73 minutes. 2011. Women Make Movies. DVD. $295.00 (Universities and Colleges). www.wmm.com<http://www.wmm.com> Eastern European women are drawn into sex trafficking and abused. The Notable Videos for Adults Committee includes: o Mary Hanlin, Tidewater Community College (Chair) o Laura Jenemann, George Mason University o Julia Churchill, Oak Lawn Public Library o Maureen Tripp, Emerson College o Tom Ipri, University of Nevada, Las Vegas o Tracy Montri, Toledo-Lucas County Public Library o Sam Readman, Miami-Dade Public Library o Joan Skowronski, Hillsborough County Library Mary Hanlin Media Collection Development Librarian Tidewater Community College, Portsmouth 120 Campus Drive, Portsmouth, Virginia 23701 P: 757-822-2133 F: 757-822-2149 mhan...@tcc.edu ________________________________ CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information or otherwise be protected by law. Any access, use, disclosure or distribution of this email message by anyone other than the intended recipient(s) is unauthorized and prohibited. 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VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
