The Life and Death of Oscar Wilde as Seen on 16mm

Join for a special screening of short films based on the works of Oscar Wilde, who was born on October 16, 1854, and died on November 30, 1900. Each film, whether a gentle parable or a fevered dream, reflects Wilde’s lifelong pursuit of the divine through art — the belief that love, beauty, and mercy are the only truths worth dying for. For more information, please contact 305-442-8706 or capleybr@mdpls.org. Ages 14 yrs.+

About the Films:
 
Canterville Ghost, 1988 20 min. 
In this animated version of an Oscar Wilde story, an American family buys a haunted house in England. The children terrorize the ghost until the daughter finds out why the ghost is unhappy. 

The Happy PRince, 1974 25 min. 
A golden statue and a swallow sacrifice themselves to save the poor people of a town. An animated version of the story by Oscar Wilde. 

Selfish Giant, 1972 27 min. 
When a giant chases children from his garden, and surrounds it with a wall, Winter moves in year round. When the giant realizes what his selfishness mean, he invites the children back in. Animated  from the story by Oscar Wilde. 
  
Nightingale and the Rose, 10 min. 
Uses minimal animation on figures and designs from the art of Aubrey Beardsley to recreate the Oscar Wilde fairy tale about a nightingale who dies in aid of a lovesick student to obtain a red rose. 
 
Salome, 1922 36 min. 
A pantomime after the play by Oscar Wilde. 
Alla Nazimova stars in this stylized film derived from Wilde's play, with sets based on drawings of Aubrey Beardsley. Silent, directed by Charles Bryant. 
 
 
About the Film Collection  
The Miami-Dade Public Library holds one of the remaining, circulating 16mm film collections. The collection dates back to 1956 and was developed to be a teaching collection designed to be used for public programming. Its holdings 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.  
The library’s films are available to be checked out for a period of 2 weeks to Miami-Dade Public Library cardholders.  The library does not circulate equipment and projectors – patrons will need to have their own. Patrons can also access the films on-site at the library through a research visit scheduled with the Special Collections department.   
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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