Summary: "The plow that broke the plains" depicts the social and economic history of the Great Plains from the settlement of the prairies by cattlemen and farmers through the World War I boom to drought and depression. "The river" traces life in the Mississippi River Valley during the previous 150 years, showing the consequences of sharecropping, soil exhaustion, unchecked erosion and floods, and...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Naxos 2007

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Summary: In 1971, author and film scholar Donald Richie published a poetic travelogue about his explorations of the islands of Japan's Inland Sea, recording his search for traces of a traditional way of life as well as his own journey of self-discovery. Twenty years later, filmmaker Lucille Carra undertook a parallel trip inspired by Richie's by-then-classic book, capturing images of hushed beauty and...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2019

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Summary: This watershed release represents the life's work of William Ferris, an audio recordist, filmmaker, folklorist, and teacher with an unwavering commitment to establish and to expand the study of the American South. William Ferris was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1942. Growing up on a working farm, Ferris began at a young age documenting the artwork, music, and lives of the people on the...

Format: sound recording-musical

Publisher / Publication Date: Dust to Digital 2018

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Summary: Paul Sorenson has a unique connection with his colleagues: a team of sheep dogs. For 40 years, he's worked to develop smarter and more intuitive training methods for fellow farmers, while grappling with memories of a difficult childhood. Reaching retirement, the veteran dog whisperer passes his knowledge to the next generation of shepherds, and reflects on the sacrifices he's made to pursue his...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2018

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Summary: A biography of Emmett Louis Till, an African-American teenager who was murdered for whistling at a white women in Mississippi in 1955. Chronicles director Beauchamp's decade-long effort to determine the true identities of Till's killers.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Thinkfilm 2005

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Summary: "In 1990, commissioned by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, veteran music film director Robert Mugge and renowned music scholar Robert Palmer ventured deep into the heart of the North Mississippi Hill Country and Mississippi Delta to seek out the best rural blues acts currently working. Starting on Beale Street in Memphis, they headed south to the juke joints, lounges, front porches, and parlors of...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2021

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Summary: Tells the story of the world's only yodeling country singing and comedy lesbian sibling duo, the Topp Twins (Jools and Lynda Topp), who have inspired a generation with their politics and celebration of joy.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Kinosmith 2011

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Summary: The story of cinematography as seen through the lenses of the world's greatest filmmakers and captured in classic scenes from over 125 immortal movies. Traces the evolution and innovations of cinematography beginning in an era when the movie camera was a marvelous invention, and examines how the filmmaking process was complicated by new cinematic trends and technologies.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment 2000

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Summary: Jan and Antonina Zabinski, the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo in Poland, saved nearly 300 Jews during the Second World War. This is a poignant documentary that is an extraordinary true story about the humanitarian spirit, as exemplified by two people who, with enormous personal risk to themselves, faced the most challenging circumstances with bravery and decency. In 1965, Jan and Antonina Zabinski...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2022

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Summary: Exposing the deadly toll from the Flint water crisis. A two-year FRONTLINE investigation uncovers the roots and extent of a deadly Legionnaires' outbreak during the water crisis, and how officials failed to stop it.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2019

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: How far do you have to travel to find yourself? And what sacrifices are you willing to make to get there? Veiga Grétarsdóttir is the first person in the world to attempt to kayak over 2,000 kilometers around Iceland, counter-clockwise and "against the current." This achievement has been said to be comparable to climbing the mountain K2. Veiga's journey is no less remarkable. She was born 44...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2021

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Summary: Yes, I Am - The Ric Weiland Story chronicles the LGBTQ pioneer & unknown founder of Microsoft. With his newfound wealth, he turned to philanthropy. During his life, he donated more than $200m to fund more than 60 non-profit organizations. His efforts still have a massive impact today. However, as his wealth grew, Ric seemed to slip further into self-doubt, depression, and a kind of impostor...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2023

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Summary: An investigation into the disputed cause of death of black activist Sandra Bland, who died in police custody in Waller County, Texas, after a routine traffic stop by state trooper Brian Encinia.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2019

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Summary: Writer and director Faraut revisits the rich bounty of footage of the left-handed tennis star John McEnroe as he competes in the French Open at Paris's Roland Garros Stadium in 1984. Far from a traditional documentary, Faraut probes the archival film to unpack both McEnroe's attention to the sport and the footage itself, creating a lively and immersive look at a driven athlete, a study on the...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2018

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Summary: In October 1942, Esther Stermer, the matriarch of a Jewish family in the Ukraine, leads her family underground to hide from the pursuing Nazis and stays nearly a year and a half. Their harrowing story of survival living in near total darkness in two cold, damp caves is one like no other ever told.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Magnolia Home Entertainment 2013

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Summary: The Neiger family was living a peaceful life in the Jewish community in Krakow when the arrival of World War II changed their lives forever. When Nazi soldiers forced the family from their home into the harsh life of the Ghetto, they made a vow to escape as a family. But when circumstances forced the family to separate from older brother Ben, their will to survive was put to the test. This is...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2022

Copies Available at Woodmere

Streep, Meryl

Summary: Examines Louisiana before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina and explains the importance of restoring the wetlands.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: Dreamscape Media 2020

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Summary: Follows five Native American communities as they restore their traditional land management practices in the face of a changing climate. For millennia Native Americans successfully stewarded and shaped their landscapes, but centuries of colonization have disrupted their ability to maintain these processes. From deserts, coastlines, forests, mountains, and prairies, Native communities across the...

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: 2021

Copies Available at Woodmere

Summary: A look at the history and legends of ancient Ireland. Begins in 2000 B.C., when Stone Age farmers built some of the largest and most spectacular Neolithic monuments in Europe, and continues through 1167 A.D, when the Norman invasion placed Ireland under English control.

Format: moving image

Publisher / Publication Date: PBS DVD Video 2003

Copies Available at Woodmere