LibGuides: DC History & Local Area Studies: Film & Media

Map of DC Cinemas

DC Cinema Map

DC Government Office of Motion Picture and Television Development

DC Film in the News - Reel Talk Film DC

DC Digital Museum

Humanities Council Digital Museum
online collection of documentary films, oral histories, and other materials of great cultural and historic significance to the District of Columbia. Many of the materials are grantee products that can be difficult or even impossible to find elsewhere. The collection consists of over 800 items, many of which are searchable in this online catalog. Most of the item pages include links to downloadable files or videos on HCTV, the Humanities Council's Youtube Channel

1968 Washington in Context

Kanopy Now Part of Library's goDigital Offerings
As the District marks the 50th anniversary of the riots that erupted after the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the DC Public Library is releasing a playlist of documentaries and films that connect residents to the city’s past. The videos can be viewed from any computer, television, mobile device or platform through Kanopy, the popular on-demand video service that has been added to the Library’s goDigital offerings.

An Oscar-nominated documentary narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, I Am Not Your Negro explores the continued peril America faces from institutionalized racism.

Eyes On The Prize recounts the fight to end decades of discrimination and segregation. It is the story of the people—young and old, male and female, northern and southern—who, compelled by a meeting of conscience and circumstance, worked to eradicate a world where whites and blacks could not go to the same school, ride the same bus, vote in the same election or participate equally in society. It was a world in which peaceful demonstrators were met with resistance and brutality—in short, a reality that is now nearly incomprehensible to many young Americans.

Part of the series Emancipation Road, this film looks at the protests, demonstrations and prominent figures of the Civil Rights Movement that finally ended segregation in the United States.

The Nine Lives of Marion Barry tells the continuing saga of Marion Barry. It's the potent story of race, power, sex and drugs; the tale of a complex and contradictory man who is the star of one of the most fascinating and bizarre chapters of American politics.

Library card holders can access Kanopy and sign up to start streaming films instantly. Films can be streamed from any computer, television, mobile device or platform by downloading the Kanopy app for iOS, Android, 4th Generation AppleTV, Chromecast or Roku. With an account, library users can stream six titles a month.