Check 'em out!

Dynamite Documentaries!

Mendez vs. Westminster: Para Todos Los Ninos/For All the Children (2002)

It was 1943 and 8-year-old Sylvia Mendez and her younger brothers were excited to start school in their new town in Orange County. Dressed in their best new outfits and with neatly combed hair, they walked up to the Westminster Elementary School admissions department only to be sent away because of their dark skin and Spanish last name, although their fair-skinned cousins were allowed to attend. Sylvia’s parents were appalled to learn that children of different races were required to enroll at separate campuses. They decided to fight for their children and for the civil rights of all students who were being discriminated against because of their ethnic heritage. The Mendez’s 1946 victory desegregated public schools in Orange County and became a precedent for broader decisions.

Winner of an Emmy and Golden Mike Award, this skillfully directed documentary offers an emotional living history of one of the most important stories in the American Civil Rights Movement, telling the story of segregation and discrimination in Orange County schools.

Mendez vs. Westminster is now on order for our library. Place a hold on this intriguing and important film today for you and/or your school-aged children and be the first to check out one of our new copies.

The Road to Jenin (2003)

Did a massacre at Jenin take place? This documentary explores the tumultuous events of April, 2002 during the Israel Operation Defensive Shield, beginning with disturbing images of the Netanya terrorist bombing on Passover evening and with an account by a victim who lost her husband. Active images capture Tsahal tanks going into the camp, dynamiting terrorist suspect houses, and violent fighting in the streets. Interweaving candid Palestinian and Israeli interviews with archival footage to recount in detail the key events of the Jenin battle and addressing Palestinian accusations and Israeli explanations head on, this documentary establishes the details of a highly charged international incident. The third part of the film is said to be the most captivating: Director Pierre Rehov travels to Jenin with a Palestinian team and investigates the personal accounts of certain witnesses to the massacre. A shocking and unsettling documentary.

Available for checkout from our library, The Road to Jenin is likely to secure a permanent place in the memory of those interested in understanding more about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Los Four [dvd] ; Murals of Aztlán : the street painters of East Los Angeles (2004)

This two-in-one documentary film set from the Chicano cinema and media art series explores key moments and figures in Chicano art. Los Four documents the first exhibition of Chicano artists held at a major art museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 1974, setting the path for other famous Latin-American contemporary artists. Then, in Murals of Aztlán, the exhibition of the same name at the Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles in 1981 is documented. Featured artists include Los Four (Carlos Almaraz, Gilbert "Magu" Sanchez Lujan, Roberto de la Rocha, Frank Romero), Gronk, Judithe Hernandez, Willie Herron, John Valadez, and the East Los Streetscapers.

This highly visual, two-part documentary will stimulate your imagination as you are introduced to some of the best Chicano art and artists, allowing you a unique art museum visit from the comfort of your own home.

Mad Hot Ballroom (2005)

"Anyone can make it if they know how to shake it." Eleven-year-old New York City public school kids journey into the world of ballroom dancing and reveal pieces of themselves and their world along the way. Told from their candid, sometimes hilarious perspectives, these kids are transformed, from reluctant participants to determined competitors, from typical urban kids to “ladies and gentlemen,” on their way to try to compete in the final citywide competition. Providing unique insight into the incredible cultural diversity that is New York City, this film profiles several kids from three schools at this dynamic age, when becoming that “cool” teenager vies for position with familiar innocence, while they learn the merengue, rumba, tango, the foxtrot and swing. This school program started in 1994 and now has over 7,500 kids from 70 schools involved.

Of special interest to fans of reality shows like “Dancing with the Stars,” “American Idol,” and “America’s Got Talent,” Mad Hot Ballroom invites you into a highly entertaining world of competitive dancing like you’ve never seen before!