AV CLUB

Feature presentation

Experience curated screenings from the Library's 16mm film collection and participate in guided discussions about film, history, and archives. Join us for a special feature presentation of Billy Woodberry's 1984 drama Bless Their Little Hearts with guest Dr. Terri Francis of UM's School of Communications. For more information, please contact the branch at 305-375-5572 or specialcollections@mdpls.org. Ages 14 yrs.+

About the film

BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS is a slice-of-life revelation and one of the key masterpieces of the LA Rebellion, the black independent-cinema renaissance that emerged from UCLA's film school in the 1970s and '80s. 

BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS distills the social concerns and neorealist aesthetics of the movement into a sensitive exploration of the inner workings of community and family that pays homage to the power of the blues. Searching for steady work, Charlie Banks (Nate Hardman) views his chronic unemployment as a kind of spiritual trial. But day work and selling a few catfish can’t sustain a family of five. While his wife Andais (a remarkable Kaycee Moore) works to support them with dignity, Charlie finds comfort for his wounded sense of manhood in an affair that threatens his marriage and family.

About the guest presenter 

Dr. Terri Francis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cinematic Arts in the School of Communication at the University of Miami.

Dr. Francis is the author of Josephine Baker’s Cinematic Prism published by Indiana University Press in 2021. A scholar of Black film history and aesthetics, her writing and curating engages film archives, film feelings, and the vicissitudes of performance and representation within a global perspective. Currently, her introduction to “Josephine Baker, Queen of Paris” is streaming on the Criterion Channel.

About the Film Collection

Did you know the Library is home to one of the few remaining circulating 16mm film collections in the country?

The MDPLS 16mm film collection dates back to 1956 and was developed to be a teaching collection designed to be utilized for public programming. Its holding include acclaimed feature films such as Rashomon (1950), Alphaville (1965), The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Pandora’s Box (1928), and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). However, what makes this collection special is the wide array of short films, ranging from experimental created by notable artists like Len Lye, Luis Bunel, Homer Groening, Kenneth Anger, Sergei Eisenstein, John Whitney to the educational produced by the likes of Pyramid Films, Xerox, McGraw Hill, and National Film Board of Canada. Unique to the collection are Florida specific titles like Enchanted (1982), Metropolis in the Sun (1989), The Everglades (1970), A Hurricane Named Betsy (1965), Miccosukee Indian Friends (1975), Salesman (1969), and more.  

Due to the broad range of subjects and styles this collection is an invaluable resource of cultural knowledge that has the power to delight and educate. 

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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