2012 VRT Notable Videos for Adults

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For Immediate Release
Mon, 01/30/2012 - 17:53

Contact: Steve Zalusky


CHICAGO - The American Library Association ( ALA) Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults Committee has compiled its 2012 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 recordings.

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 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.  New Video.  DVD. $29.99.  Available from most distributors. The 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.  http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/better.html  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. 2011. New Day Films. DVD. $249./Public libraries $119.  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 2ndProductions. DVD.  $99 public libraries and $190 for academic libraries.  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. www.bullfrog.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. ww.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.  Trabelsi Productions. 2011. 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. www.wmm.comEastern European women are drawn into sex trafficking and abused.

 Committee Members: 

 The Notable Videos for Adults Committee includes:

  • Mary Hanlin, Tidewater Community College (Chair)
  • Laura Jenemann, George Mason University 
  • Julia Churchill, Oak Lawn (Ill.) Public Library
  • Maureen Tripp, Emerson College
  • Tom Ipri, Drexel University
  • Tracy Montri, Toledo-Lucas County (Ohio) Public Library
  • Sam Readman, Miami-Dade (Fla.) Public Library
  • Joan Skowronski, Hillsborough County (Fla.) Library