Wondering how to get additional learning / culture after our wonderful AJL Digital Conference has ended? Earlier today, I learned about Kanopy, which doesn't seem to have been mentioned on hasafran yet. from https://www.kanopy.com/about-us : "We stream thoughtful entertainment to your preferred device with no fees and no commercials by partnering with public libraries and universities. Everyone from film scholars to casual viewers will discover remarkable and enriching films on Kanopy. Log in with your library membership and enjoy our diverse catalog with new titles added every month. Some libraries may limit the number of videos users can watch per month (the number will vary by library). If this is the case, you will see a "play credit tracker" at the top right of your library's Kanopy platform to alert you of how many play credits you have remaining for the month." To be honest, I'm underwhelmed by the search engine the site is using (especially since the site seems to be targeting librarians and library users), but I nonetheless was able to find films that satisfy 3 of my interests : libraries, Jewish life, and popular culture.
Among the available films : Ex Libris - The New York Public Library (2017) Frederick Wiseman's new film EX LIBRIS goes behind the scenes of one of the greatest knowledge institutions in the world and reveals it as a place of welcoming cultural exchange and learning. With 92 locations throughout Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, the library is committed to being a resource for all the inhabitants of this multifaceted and cosmopolitan city, and beyond. The Hollywood Librarian - A Look at Librarians Through Film (2009)They have more cardholders than VISA, more customers than Amazon, and more outlets than McDonald's. Meet America's librarians. THE HOLLYWOOD LIBRARIAN: A LOOK AT LIBRARIANS THROUGH FILM is the first comprehensive treatment of the subject of librarians. A vivid blend of factual documentary, feature film, and storytelling, it reveals the history and realities of librarianship in the entertaining and appealing context of American movies. Interviews with actual librarians, intercut with film clips of cinematic librarians, examine such issues as literature, books and reading, censorship, library funding, citizenship and democracy. For the first time, we see and understand the real lives and real work of American librarians who for decades have been a cultural force hiding in plain sight. Google and the World Brain (2013) In 1937, the science fiction writer H. G. Wells imagined a "World Brain" containing all of the world's knowledge, accessible to all people, that would be "so compact in its material form and so gigantic in its scope and possible influence" that it could transcend even nation states and governments. Seventy years later, Google set about realizing Wells' vision, launching a massive project to scan millions of books from university library collections -- and triggering a fierce backlash in the process. When it was discovered that over half of the first ten million books Google scanned were still in copyright, authors from around the world joined together to wage a fierce legal battle against the Internet giant, culminating in a dramatic courtroom showdown in 2011. Wild About Books (2005) Librarian Molly McGrew introduces birds and beasts to the wonders of reading. And in no time, they are "forsaking their niches, their nests, and their nooks, and "going wild, simply wild, about wonderful books!" That Book Woman (2010) Cal is not the reading type, but that book woman keeps visiting. This is the moving story of the Pack Horse Librarians, whose bravery and commitment helped rural children find something wonderful in books. The Golem - How He Came into the World - Der Golem - wie er in die Welt kam (1920) Widely recognized as the source of the Frankenstein myth, the ancient Hebrew legend of the Golem provided actor/director Paul Wegener with the substance for one of the most adventurous films of the German silent cinema. Suffering under the tyrannical rule of Rudolf II in 16th-century Prague, a Talmudic rabbi (Albert Steinruck) creates a giant warrior (Paul Wegener) to protect the safety of his people. Sculpted of clay and animated by the mysterious secrets of the Kabbalah, the Golem is a seemingly indestructible juggernaut, performing acts of great heroism, yet equally capable of dreadful violence. When the rabbi's assistant (Ernst Deutsch) takes control of the Golem and attempts to use him for selfish gain, the lumbering monster runs rampant, abducting the rabbi's daughter (Lyda Salmonova) and setting fire to the ghetto. Etgar Keret: What Animal Are You? - Portrait of Renowned Israeli Writer (2013)For this entertainingly intimate documentary portrait of renowned Israeli writer Etgar Keret, filmmaker Gur Bentwich accompanies his longtime friend on a whirlwind book tour to the Big Apple. Between readings and interviews, Keret ruminates on his life as a writer and the recent death of his father; he also hangs with New York pals including author Nathan Englander and This American Life's Ira Glass. East Jerusalem West Jerusalem - Peace Through Music (2014) David Broza, the Israeli singer-songwriter, sets out to realize his dream of cooperation and dialog between Israelis and Palestinians through music. During 8 days and nights of joint creation in an East Jerusalem studio, a hopeful message of equality and unity arises. A History Of Israeli Cinema (2009) 'A History Of Israeli Cinema, Part 1' is part of a series of films from Kino Lorber Edu. Raphael Nadjari's extraordinary two-part documentary weaves together clips from more than 70 years of Israeli film with commentary from filmmakers, scholars and critics - including Amos Gitai, Joseph Cedar, Avi Mograbi, Yehuda Ne'eman, Menachem Golan, Moshe Ivgy, Ronit Elkabetz and Zeev Revach. Crafted for both insiders and outsiders, the film traces the evolution of the country's cinema alongside political and social history: part one spans the years 1933 to 1978, covering the overlap between the Zionist struggle to form a state and the propagandistic qualities of revolutionary cinema; part two, the shift to reality-based filmmaking in the late 70s, and the transition from the political films of the 80s to the more personal cinema of today. The most comprehensive and compelling record of the subject ever attempted, Nadjari's film reveals a cinematic national identity that is inextricably linked to the ever-changing emotional reality of the country. 93Queen : The Creation of the First All-Female Hasidic Ambulance Corps in New York City (2018)This is the inspirational story of Rachel "Ruchie" Freier, a no-nonsense Hasidic lawyer and mother of six who is determined to shake up the boy's club in her community by creating Ezras Nashim, the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in New York City. In the Hasidic enclave of Borough Park, Brooklyn, EMS corps have long been the province of men. Though the neighborhood is home to the largest volunteer ambulance corps in the world, that organization has steadfastly banned women from its ranks. Now Ruchie and a group of tenacious Hasidic women are risking their reputations and the futures of their children to provide dignified emergency medical care to the Hasidic women and girls of Borough Park. ********** Steven M. Bergson, MLISToronto, Canada
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