AV CLUB

Meet the filmmaker!

Experience curated screenings from the Library's 16mm film collection and participate in guided discussions about film, history, and archives. For this event, we will be joined by filmmaker Michael DiLauro who will discuss his 1979 film Fantasy Fling and share inside information about the beginnings of the MDPLS film collection. For more information, please contact the branch at 305-375-5572 or specialcollections@mdpls.org. Ages 12 yrs.+

About the filmmaker

Michael DiLauro is a celebrated director and producer of documentaries and television programs who has earned six Emmys for artistic merit, a Blue Ribbon from the American Film Festival and the prestigious Gabriel Award for outstanding television programming, as well as numerous Telly awards, arts council grants and fellowships.  In 2018 he wrapped up his academic career as the Director of the Academic Media Center and Associate Professor of Media Arts. He retired with distinction as Professor Emeritus from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. His 1979 film Fantasy Fling is an intimate look at the Disco subculture of Columbus, Ohio. Michael also has ties to Miami and the MDPLS film collection - his uncle Mike Anguilano served as the first film librarian for MDPLS! 

About the Film Collection

The 16mm film collection has been part of the Library's holdings for over 55 years. Its first films were part of the City of Miami’s public library and began in the 1960s before there was a county library. When MDPLS was formed, the County supplemented its local funding for films with Federal LSCA grants (Library Services and Construction Act). Apart from leased feature films, all films were purchased for free exhibition for the life of the print. Subjects within the collection include experimental/avant-garde art films, non-narrated films, children’s films, Black history, Floridiana, and local history. Today, there are over 4,000 films within the collection.

About the Division of Special Collections & Archives

Miami-Dade Public Library System’s Division of Special Collections & Archives holds rare and irreplaceable historical documents for the benefit of the public and scholarly community. They oversee the Helen Muir Florida Collection, 16mm Film Collection, Cuban Collection of Rare Books & Ephemera, Genealogy Collection, Vasari Project, and rare & antiquarian books from as early as the 17th century. The Division's primary goal is to provide the public with the contents of the vault at their request. Its collections include rare books, original manuscripts, over 18,000 photographs, prints, artifacts, audiovisual resources, and electronic media.

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