Videoteca

location_onPleasantville, New YorkpublicUS

Fragments of Paradise 2022 star_border 6.7
For over 70 years, Jonas Mekas, internationally known as the "godfather" of avant-garde cinema, documented his life in what came to be known as his diary films. From his arrival in New York City as a displaced person in 1949 to his death in 2019, he chronicled the trauma and loss of exile while pioneering institutions to support the growth of independent film in the United States. Fragments of Paradise is an intimate look at his life and work constructed from thousands of hours of his own video and film diaries-including never-before-seen tapes and unpublished audio recordings. It is a story about finding beauty amidst profound loss, and a man who tried to make sense of it all... with a camera.

A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks 2021 star_border 6.9
This documentary chronicles renaissance man Gordon Parks’ stellar career from staff photographer for LIFE magazine, through his artistic development photographing everyday Americans, through his evolution as a novelist and groundbreaking filmmaker.

The Soul of America 2020 star_border 5.4
Writer, journalist, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and presidential biographer John Meacham offers his timely and invaluable insights into the country’s current political and historical moment by examining its past. Based on his 2018 bestseller of the same name.

True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Equality 2019 star_border 6.8
An intimate portrait of Alabama public interest attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, who for more than three decades has advocated on behalf of the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned, seeking to eradicate racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.

King in the Wilderness 2018 star_border 6.9
A chronicle of the final chapters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, revealing a conflicted leader who faced an onslaught of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.

The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee 2017 star_border 7.9
An intimate portrait of Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee, tracing his remarkable ascent from a young Boston boy stricken with polio to the one of the most pioneering and consequential journalistic figures of the 20th century.

Jim: The James Foley Story 2016 star_border 7.2
In August, 2014, a video of the public execution of American photojournalist James Foley rippled across the globe. Foley wore an orange jumpsuit as he knelt beside an ISIS militant dressed in black. That image challenged the world to deal with a new face of terror. And it tested one American family. Seen through the lens of filmmaker Brian Oakes, Foley’s close childhood friend, Jim takes us from small-town New England to the adrenaline-fueled front lines of Libya and Syria, where Foley pushed the limits of danger to report on the plight of civilians impacted by war.

Nixon by Nixon: In His Own Words 2014 star_border 7.1
From 1971 to 1973, Richard Nixon secretly recorded his private conversations in the White House. This film chronicles the content of those tapes, which include Nixon's conversations on the war in Vietnam, the Pentagon Papers leak, his Supreme Court appointments, and more--while also exposing shocking statements he made about women, people of color, Jews, and the media.

Gloria: In Her Own Words 2011 star_border 6.7
Despite decades of opposition from the right, and recent personal setbacks, Gloria Steinem remains one of the most outspoken and visible symbols of the women’s movement today. This film blends interviews of Steinem in her Manhattan apartment, archival footage, photographs from throughout her life and clips from press interviews over the years.

Teddy: In His Own Words 2009 star_border 7
A reflection of the life of Teddy Kennedy...in his own words.

The Road to 9/11 2005
Starting with the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and the remodeling of the Middle East by the West, this film looks at the historical influences in modern Islamic terrorism and specifically the attack on America of 9/11.

The Peoples Palace: Secrets of the New York Public Library 1992
A documentary about the New York Public Library, including the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts and the Schomberg Center in Harlem.

The People's Palace: A Portrait of the New York Public Library 1991
With a mission of collecting, preserving and making accessible the materials of human culture, the New York Public Library plays a vital role in the cultural life of the Big Apple. This film provides a multifaceted portrait of the institution. Viewers will learn about the library's history, collections and research centers as well as the individuals charged with upholding its mission while always keeping an eye to the future.

Bobby Kennedy: In His Own Words 1990
Unique documentary of one of America's most revered politicians, Robert F. Kennedy.

JFK: In His Own Words 1988
Here is an intimate, revealing portrait of John F. Kennedy featuring never-before-seen news footage and private home movies. From his childhood through school days, World War II and the beginnings of his political career, you'll get to know him through his own words in his own voice, taken from the tape archives at the Kennedy Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Lincoln's Dilemma 2022 star_border 6.5
Discover a side of Abraham Lincoln you've never seen before. In this four-part docuseries, a diverse panel of historians and rare archival materials offer a more nuanced look into the man dubbed the Great Emancipator.

Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union 2021 star_border 5.6
Six-hour documentary series focused on the President’s personal story and his vision for America, set against the backdrop of the country’s racial history. It traces his own search for identity and his role shaping a more inclusive American identity that has been under attack since he left office. Through the words of some of the people who knew him best, and through some of his sharpest critics, the film ultimately reveals the fallacy of America as a post-racial society, and confronts the work still needed to achieve a more perfect union as the work of a country, not just one man.

Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise 2016 star_border 9
A look at the last five decades of African American history since the major civil rights victories through the eyes of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., exploring the tremendous gains and persistent challenges of these years.