The American Library Association (ALA) Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults Committee has compiled its 2013 list of Notable Videos for Adults, a list of 15 outstanding programs released on video within the past two years and suitable for all libraries serving adults. Its purpose is to call attention to recent video releases that make a significant contribution to the world of video. The list is compiled for use by librarians and the general adult populace.
The Notable Videos for Adults committee selected 15 outstanding titles from among 46 nominees for this year’s list of Notable Videos for Adults.
- Benda Bilili! [look beyond appearances]
(2012) 85 minutes. National Geographic Entertainment. DVD: $24.98. Available from various distributors. Despite severe disabilities, a group of musicians from Kinshasa go from playing on the streets to international stages.
- Girl Model
(2011) 77 minutes. Carnivalesque Films. DVD: $250. Available from www.carnivalesquefilms.com
Cinema vérité look at the link between young Russian girls and the Japanese modeling industry.
- How Does It Feel
(2011) 35 minutes. National Film Board of Canada. DVD: $150. Available from nfb.ca/USeducation
A man reveals his life with cerebral palsy through his singing.
- Inocente
(2012) 40 minutes. Cinema Guild. DVD: $295. Available from http://cinemaguild.com/catalog/index.html
A homeless teenager is uplifted by her art.
- Into Eternity
(2011) 75 minutes. The Video Project. DVD: Colleges, Institutions, Businesses $299; K-12 Schools, Public Libraries $89. Available from http://www.videoproject.com
Home Screening $29.95. Available from http://www.specialtystudios.com
High-level radioactive waste will be stored underground in Finland for millennia.
- The Light in Her Eyes
(2012) 86 minutes. PBS Video. DVD: $24.95. Available from http://www.shoppbs.org.
For Public performance rights, contact The Cinema Guild.
In Syria, a female Muslim preacher mentors young women on the teachings of Islam.
- The Loving Story
(2011) 77 minutes. Icarus Films. DVD: Public libraries & high schools $150; Colleges & Universities $298. Available from http://icarusfilms.com
An interracial couple fight a landmark case against miscegenation laws in segregated Virginia.
- Pink Ribbons, Inc.
(2011) 98 minutes. First Run Features. DVD: $27.95. Available from various distributors and streaming through iTunes.
The commercialization of pink ribbons influences how we think about breast cancer.
- The Pruitt-Igoe Myth
(2012) 85 minutes. First Run Features. DVD: $27.95. Available from various distributors and streaming through iTunes.
Examines the contributing factors which led to the demise of one of America’s largest public housing projects.
- Scenes of a Crime
(2012) 88 minutes. DVD: $295. Available from http://scenesofacrime.com/ and streaming through iTunes.
Aggressive and manipulative interrogation may have led to a false confession.
- Semper Fi: Always Faithful
(2012) 76 minutes. Bullfrog Films. DVD: $295. Available from http://www.bullfrogfilms.com and streaming through iTunes.
An expose about the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and how it affected former Marines and their families.
- Sing Your Song
(2012) 104 minutes. New Video Group. DVD: $29.95. Available from various distributors in DVD and streaming.
A biography of Harry Belafonte focuses on his contributions to the civil rights movement and beyond.
- You’ve Been Trumped
(2012) 95 minutes. Bullfrog Films. DVD: $295. Available from http://www.bullfrogfilms.com
A Donald Trump real estate venture threatens the Scottish countryside and homes of its residents.
- We Were Here: The AIDS Years in San Francisco
(2012) 90 minutes. Docurama. DVD: $29.95. Available from various distributors in DVD and streaming. Information at www.wewereherefilm.com
The San Francisco gay community recounts the early 1980s and the AIDS epidemic.
- Where Soldiers Come From
(2011) 91 minutes. New Day Films. DVD: Institutions (Colleges/Universities) $299; Community Groups/Public Libraries/K-12 Schools $75. Available from www.newday.com and from various vendors streaming.
High school graduates travel full circle from their small town in Michigan, to serving in Afghanistan, to their homecoming as changed men and war veterans.
The Notable Videos for Adults Committee members are: Laura Jenemann, George Mason University (chair); Julia Churchill, Oak Lawn Public Library; Mary Hanlin, Tidewater Community College; Carleton Jackson, University of Maryland; Maura Lynch, Guilderland Public Library; Sandra Macke, University of Denver; Tracy Montri, Toledo-Lucas County Public Library; Maureen Tripp, Emerson College; and Rob Tygett, St. Louis Public Library.