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Christmas Shorts Presented on 16mm Film
Wednesday, December 23
6:00pm - 7:30pm
This selection of Christmas-themed short films celebrates the season through stories of generosity, kindness, and the joy of giving. Presented on 16mm film, this festive program offers a chance to enjoy holiday stories and share in the spirit of the season. In collaboration with Special Collections. For more information, contact the branch at 305-233-8324 or email quiroslasom@mdpls.org. Ages 19+
About the Films:
A Christmas Carol: 1959 25 mins
A Christmas tale of the regeneration of the miserly Scrooge. Filmed in England against authentic backgrounds. Frederic March introduces the film and Basil Rathbone portrays Scrooge. The film easily captures the true feeling of the immortal story, as it closely follows Dickens' original words
The Little Rascals' Christmas special: 1979 24 mins
In this animated version of an Our Gang story, Spanky's mother orders a Blue Comet vacuum cleaner for her employer. Spanky thinks this is the BlueComet electric train. In order not to disappoint Spanky, his mother uses her clothing money to buy a train. Her sacrifice and Spanky's discovery of it lead to a classic Christmas ending.
How the animals discovered Christmas: 1956 14 mins
Uses animation in telling a story about woodland animals who discover the true spirit of Christmas when they cooperate to save the life of an injured bluebird.
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.
AGE GROUP: | Older Adults (55+) | Adult (19+) |
EVENT TYPE: | Special Collections | Movies | In-Person |
TAGS: | Special Collections | Movies | In-Person | Holiday | Hobbies & Special Interest |
Coral Reef Branch
| Mon, Oct 19 | 9:30AM to 8:00PM |
| Tue, Oct 20 | 9:30AM to 8:00PM |
| Wed, Oct 21 | 9:30AM to 8:00PM |
| Thu, Oct 22 | 9:30AM to 8:00PM |
| Fri, Oct 23 | 9:30AM to 6:00PM |
| Sat, Oct 24 | 9:30AM to 6:00PM |
| Sun, Oct 25 | Closed |
Miami, FL 33157