Month: September 2015

See a free movie in advance on Wednesday and help a Tenleytown charity

We often share free advance movie passes, and we’re excited to something a little differently with them this time. We have passes for you to see 99 Homes, an Andrew Garfield-led drama about eviction and homeless – and proceeds from the event are going to a local charity. To promote 99 Homes, filmmaker Broad Green … Continue reading “See a free movie in advance on Wednesday and help a Tenleytown charity”

We often share free advance movie passes, and we’re excited to something a little differently with them this time. We have passes for you to see 99 Homes, an Andrew Garfield-led drama about eviction and homeless – and proceeds from the event are going to a local charity.

To promote 99 Homes, filmmaker Broad Green Pictures started the 99 Good Deeds Program, a charitable effort that holds benefit screenings of the film for small non-profit organizations fighting homelessness. This screening of 99 Homes supports Friendship Place, a homelessness group founded in Tenleytown. (In fact, you’ve probably walked past one of their locations if you’ve ever gone north on Wisconsin Avenue near the Safeway.)

The screening will be held this Wednesday, September 9th at 7:30pm at the Mazza Gallerie in Friendship Heights. Passes can theoretically be redeemed online at broadgreen.ticktbox.com, but the link hasn’t been working for us. But we do have a bunch of physical passes you can pick up at the Media Services desk in the library.

Remember the usual caveats: this event is intentionally overbooked, and a pass does not guarantee entry. Arrive in advance to ensure you get a seat!

Epix deal (sadly) signals a new phase of streaming fragmentation

Netflix subscribers might have notice their queues empty a little in the coming weeks. Digital film distributor Epix ends its billion-dollar licensing deal with the streaming giant at the end of this month, and many of its biggest films – including the Hunger Games and Transformers franchises – are moving to Hulu. This is a … Continue reading “Epix deal (sadly) signals a new phase of streaming fragmentation”

Netflix subscribers might have notice their queues empty a little in the coming weeks. Digital film distributor Epix ends its billion-dollar licensing deal with the streaming giant at the end of this month, and many of its biggest films – including the Hunger Games and Transformers franchises – are moving to Hulu. This is a big, risky decision for Netflix, but more troublingly, it’s a sign of the growing fragmentation of the streaming marketplace.

Streaming services have long been idealized as a way to cut out DVD purchases and a cable television subscription – especially for people not in a financial position to pay for it all – but that dream rests on streaming options being concentrated and affordable. To watch all the most acclaimed shows on television and the best recent movies, you’ll at least need a subscription to Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Showtime Anytime, Amazon Prime… and the list continues. That could at least $50 per month. Original content like Orange is the New Black will understandably never be on a competing service, but when Catching Fire is only available on tap from specific outlets, instant universal accessibility seems out of reach.

As Bryan Bishop from The Verge puts it, there will never be a Spotify equivalent for video. Netflix and Hulu are fine offering only a limited selection of programming and hoping “the lean-back passivity of television” makes up for the gaps in their libraries. It’s unfortunate, but that’s how streaming media business works now.

We didn’t intend for this post to be a direct promotion for our services, but it does underlie the biggest benefit of library DVD collections: everything will always be in one place – and for free.

Buenos Aires film festival puts decades of Latin American films online for free

Our comfortable routine of watching major blockbusters and idly browsing Netflix often blinds us to titles we wouldn’t otherwise seek out, and too often, that includes world cinema. Our usual outlets sometimes either downplay or outright omit films from other countries and in other languages. If you want to watch something from elsewhere on the … Continue reading “Buenos Aires film festival puts decades of Latin American films online for free”

Our comfortable routine of watching major blockbusters and idly browsing Netflix often blinds us to titles we wouldn’t otherwise seek out, and too often, that includes world cinema. Our usual outlets sometimes either downplay or outright omit films from other countries and in other languages. If you want to watch something from elsewhere on the globe, where can you start?

If you’re interested in Latin American films, look no further than Cinemargentino, a streaming website that recently got a big kick from the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema. BAFICI released hundreds of films from the festival’s 16-year library to Cinemargentino, which can now be streamed from free via your browser. The library includes shorts and feature-length videos totaling over 15 hours, guaranteeing you, at the very least, one extremely aggressive day of world cinema.

The deal between BAFICI and Cinemargentino seems to be temporary, so you’ll want to cram those 15 hours in while you can. The site does have plenty of other exciting Latin American film, so even if you miss this window, you still might’ve found your favorite new streaming site.

(Thanks to Professor Jeffrey Middents for tipping us off!)

New Acquisitions – September 2015

And thus the school year begins! Welcome to all the returning and new students that we’re looking forward to assisting over the semester. Although we’ve continued to add new titles throughout the past month, our largest batch of new additions comes from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion Library formerly located in Mary Graydon. The … Continue reading “New Acquisitions – September 2015”

And thus the school year begins! Welcome to all the returning and new students that we’re looking forward to assisting over the semester.

Although we’ve continued to add new titles throughout the past month, our largest batch of new additions comes from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion Library formerly located in Mary Graydon. The CDI Library unfortunately closed over the summer, but all of their titles have been added to our permanent collection. This includes a large selection of GLBTA films and documentaries and television shows that might be hard to find otherwise. Amazingly, that includes Ellen, as the show is now out-of-print.

Our other most exciting additions are the first seasons of the hit Comedy Central shows Inside Amy Schumer and Key & Peele. Nooice!

Hit the jump for a full list of our new titles from the past month…

Home Use Collection:

The Killing, Season 2 – HU DVD 4312
Paper Dolls – HU DVD 4336
Mad Men, Season 7, Part 1 – HU DVD 4547
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer – HU DVD 6962
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar – HU DVD 7802
Saved! – HU DVD 7803
Saving Face – HU DVD 7804
Torch Song Trilogy – HU DVD 7810
Transtasia – HU DVD 7811
When I Knew – HU DVD 7814
Zerophilia – HU DVD 7815
Modern Family, Season 5 – HU DVD 8955
Parks and Recreation, Season 7 – HU DVD 9227
Louie, Season 4 – HU DVD 9334
101 Dalmatians – HU DVD 12277
American Ballet Theater: A History – HU DVD 12296
Tangerines – HU DVD 12304
Killing Jesus – HU DVD 12315
Planet Ocean – HU DVD 12316
Inside Amy Schumer, Seasons 1 & 2 – HU DVD 12319
Key & Peele, Season 1 – HU DVD 12320
Key & Peele, Season 2 – HU DVD 12321
Key & Peele, Season 3 – HU DVD 12322
Houdini – HU DVD 12323
La Yuma – HU DVD 12324
The Blacklist, Season 1 – HU DVD 12326
Top Cat: The Movie / Don Gato y Su Pandilla – HU DVD 12334
Chicken Tikka Masala – HU DVD 12335
Connie and Carla – HU DVD 12336
De-Lovely – HU DVD 12337
Calendar Girls – HU DVD 12338
Cho Revolution – HU DVD 12339
Broadway Damage – HU DVD 12340
Brother Outsiders – HU DVD 12341
The Butch Factor – HU DVD 12342
All Over the Guy – HU DVD 12343
Anyone and Everyone – HU DVD 12344
The Badge – HU DVD 12345
Big Eden – HU DVD 12346
Adam & Steve – HU DVD 12347
Aimée & Jaguar – HU DVD 12348
Further Tales of the City – HU DVD 12380
Gun Hill Road – HU DVD 12382
The Gymnast – HU DVD  12383
Different for Girls – HU DVD 12384
Ellen DeGeneres: The Beginning – HU DVD 12385
It’s In the Water – HU DVD 12387
The Iron Ladies – HU DVD 12388
Indigo Girls: Live at the Fillmore, Denver, November 20, 1999 – HU DVD 12389
In & Out – HU DVD 12390
I Exist: Voices from the Lesbian and Gay Middle Eastern Community in the U.S. – HU DVD 12391
Leading Ladies – HU DVD 12392
Ladies or Gentlemen – HU DVD 12393
Jeffrey – HU DVD 12394
Mambo Italiano – HU DVD 12395
Miss Continental Pageant – HU DVD 12396
Saint of 9/11 – HU DVD 12397
Trick – HU DVD 12398
Rick & Steve, Season 1 – HU DVD 12401
Rick & Steve, Season 2 – HU DVD 12402
Dirty Sexy Money – HU DVD 12403
The Lovers & Friends Show, Season 1 – HU DVD 12404
The Lovers & Friends Show, Season 2 – HU DVD 12405
The Lovers & Friends Show, Season 3 – HU DVD 12406
Noah’s Arc, Season 1 – HU DVD 12407
Noah’s Arc, Season 2 – HU DVD 12408
RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 2 – HU DVD 12409
RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 3 – HU DVD 12410
America’s Next Top Model, Cycle One – HU DVD 12411
The Big Gay Sketch Show, Season 1 – HU DVD 12412
The Big Gay Sketch Show, Season 1 – HU DVD 12413
The ACLU Freedom Files, Season 1 – HU DVD 12414
The ACLU Freedom Files, Season 2 – HU DVD 12415
After Newtown: Guns in America – HU DVD 12419
Masters of Sex, Season 2 – HU DVD 14211
A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America – HU DVD 12422
Merchants of Doubt – HU DVD 12425
Merchants of Doubt – HU BLU 12425
Timbuktu – HU DVD 12426
The Reluctant Fundamentalist – HU DVD 12437
Monsenor: The Last Journey of Oscar Romero – HU DVD 12454
Queer as Folk, Season 4 – HU DVD 14147
Queer as Folk, Season 5 – HU DVD 14148
House of Cards, Season 3 – HU DVD 14351
Project Runway, Season 1 – HU DVD 14352
Project Runway, Season 2 – HU DVD 14353
Project Runway, Season 3 – HU DVD 14354
Project Runway, Season 4 – HU DVD 14355
Project Runway, Season 5 – HU DVD 14356
Project Runway, Season 6 – HU DVD 14357
Project Runway, Season 7 – HU DVD 14358
Greek, Season 1 – HU DVD 14364
Greek, Season 2 – HU DVD 14365
Greek, Season 3 – HU DVD 14366
Will & Grace, Season 1 – HU DVD 14367
Will & Grace, Season 2 – HU DVD 14368
Will & Grace, Season 3 – HU DVD 14369
Will & Grace, Season 4 – HU DVD 14370
Will & Grace, Season 8 – HU DVD 14374

In-Library Titles:

Shelter – DVD 7805
Some Reasons for Living – DVD 7806
Sordid – DVD 7807
Stonewall – DVD 7808
The Sum of Us – DVD 7809
Two Spirits – DVD 7812
What’s Morally Wrong with Homosexuality? – DVD 7813
You I Love – DVD 7816
You Are Not Alone – DVD 7817
The Mask You Live In – DVD 12085
A Survivor’s Story – DVD 12305
The Mama Sherpas – DVD 12317
Born This Way: Gay and Lesbian in Cameroon – DVD 12318
Adventures of Felix – DVD 12349
Bear Cub – DVD 12350
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers – DVD 12352
The Castro – DVD 12353
Camp – DVD 12354
Diary of a Serial Killer – DVD 12355
Decade: A Documentary of the Artist, Melissa Ferrick – DVD 12356
The Power of Yourh – DVD 12358
The Perfect Son – DVD 12359
Notorious C.H.O. – DVD 12361
Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story – DVD 12362
Lesbians of Buenos Aires – DVD 12364
The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo – DVD 12365
Melissa Etheridge: Lucky Live – DVD 12366
Marriage Makes a Word of Difference – DVD 12367
The Matthew Shepard Story – DVD 12368
Itty Bitty Titty Committee – DVD 12369
Kate Clinton: 25th Anniversary Tour – DVD 12370
Kathy Griffin: Allegedly – DVD 12371
Lead with Love – DVD 12372
Hush! – DVD 12373
I Wanna Be a Republican – DVD 12374
Innocent – DVD 12375
Get Real – DVD 12376
The DL Chronicles, Season 1 – DVD 12377
Everything – DVD 12378
Frida Kahlo – DVD 12379
Ellen, Season 1 – DVD 14359
Ellen, Season 2 – DVD 14360
Ellen, Season 3 – DVD 14361
Ellen, Season 4 – DVD 14362
Ellen, Season 5 – DVD 14363