Video
List
Humanities Iowa has funded documentary films and videos about Iowa and Iowans throughout its history. Additionally, various videos have been created about Humanities Iowa grant-funded projects.
VHS format videos
are available for loan to non-profit groups to be shown for educational
purposes at events that are free and open to the public. All films/videos
are copyrighted and may not be copied without permission. To borrow one
of the following videos, contact the Humanities Iowa office at 319-335-4153.
Documentaries:
The Britt Draft Horse Show—Gentle Giants: Window to Our Heritage — This video focuses on the Draft Horse Show that is held in Britt, Iowa each Labor Day weekend where 16, six-horse hitches from across the nation gather and where the spirit of the draft horse is kept alive. 22 minutes.
Dvorak and America — A documentary portraying composer Antonin Dvorak’s time in America and his trips to Spillville, Iowa. By Lucille Carra and Brian Cotnoir. 56 minutes.
For My People: The Life and Writing of Margaret Walker — This documentary combines conversations with Margaret Walker, commentary from leading scholars and readings from her poetry to make a powerful argument for the centrality of her work to 20th century American literature. Judith McCray. 26 minutes.
The Forgotten Journey – The Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Saga — A documentary on the first wagon party of pioneers to make it successfully from the Missouri River frontier, over the Sierras and into California with wagons, thereby opening the central route of the California Trail. John Krizek, 2001. 57 minutes.
The Re-Telling of Maud Stratton’s Herbert Hoover’s Home Town — A 4-tape historical account of West Branch’s first one hundred years from Maud Stratton’s book, Herbert Hoover’s Home Town. The tapes combine the voices and images of current West Branch residents reading from the book and historical photographs relevant to passages being read.
Homecoming — Glenwood, Iowa’s Homecoming Week. Through interview and observation, the film describes specifically a unique small-town tradition that stretches back nearly a century. In a broader sense, this documentary also details a small American town in the middle of its transition to suburban "bedroom community" as its citizens do what they can to keep their traditions alive. Katrina Merkel, 86 minutes
The New Ball Game — A documentary that explores the uneasy relationship between small-town ball and big-time money in minor-league baseball in the upper Midwest and will explore how a team affects a town’s life in terms of money, personality and self-image. Steve Holmes, 1998. 57 minutes.
The People of the River — Narrated by Tim Silvey. This is a documentary on the archaeological history of the Iowa River Greenbelt in Hardin County, Iowa.
The Rainsbargers: A Lynching in Hardin County — A family history and trial of the Rainsbarger family who were accused of killing a man.
The Surf Ballroom — Documentary on the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. Debra Lass, Nelson Breen. 57 minutes.
Tales of the Rails — A history of trains in Iowa. Iowa residents give recollections and stories of what they remember about the trains. 31 minutes.
Troublesome Creek — Story of an Iowan family struggling to keep their farm. Jeanne Jordan and Steve Ascher. 88 minutes.
Villisca: Living With A Mystery — This documentary tells the story of a small town forever altered by a 1912 murder of eight people asleep in their own beds. Shot on 16 mm film over a five-year period, the documentary examines the effect of the crime on the town, the county and the state in the decades following the murders.
Yidl in the Middle — A story of a young girl growing up Jewish in Iowa. Marlene Booth. 57 minutes.
The following videotapes
are not necessarily funded by Humanities Iowa, but may be useful to non-profit
groups wanting to borrow them for educational purposes:
Adelante, Mujeres! — History of Mexican-American/Chicana Women in the United States from the National Women’s History Project. 20 minutes. Available in English or Spanish.
The Constitution—That Delicate Balance — A set of 13 tapes discussing various aspects of the U.S. Constitution. Media and Society Seminars created by Columbia University, 1984.
1. Executive Privilege and the Presidency: The President versus the Congress
2. War Powers: The President and the Congress
3. Presidential Elections, Presidential Succession
4. Criminal Justice and a Defendant’s Right to a Fair Trial
5. Crime and Insanity
6. Crime and Punishments
7. Campaign Spending: Money and Media
8. National Security and Freedom of the Press
9. School Prayer, Gun Control, and the Right to Assemble
10. The Sovereign Self: Right to Live, Right to Die
11. Immigration Reform
12. Affirmative Action versus Reverse Discrimination
13. Federalism: The National Government versus the States
David Plowden on Touchstone — An interview with David Plowden about his photographs and book. (May be used in conjunction with exhibition of David Plowden photographs. Contact Humanities Iowa for more information.)
Millennium Evenings at the White House (series) Funded by the NEH
1. Professor Bernard Bailyn, "The Living Past—Commitments for the Future"
2. Stephen Hawking, "Imagination and Change—Science in the Next Millennium"
3. Poets Laureate, "The American Voice in Poetry"
4. "Jazz—An Expression of Democracy"
5. Professors Natalie Zemon Davis and Martin Marty, "The Meaning of the Millennium"
6. "Women as Citizens—Vital Voices through the Century"
7. Professor Elie Wiesel, "The Perils of Indifference: Lessons from a Violent Century"
8. Dr. Vinton Cerf & Dr. Eric Lander, "Informatics Meets Genomics"
One Woman, One Vote — PBS Documentary of the 70-year battle for women suffrage. 106 minutes.
Revolutionary Return of Thomas Jefferson — (May 1988) An oral history and re-enactment of Thomas Jefferson by historian Clay Jenkinson. 58 minutes.
Roots of Resistance: A Story of the Underground Railroad — This program recounts the story of black America’s secret railroad to freedom through narratives of escaped slaves.
Talk to Me: Americans in Conversation — Exploration of what "Being American" means at the close of the 20th century. 56 minutes.
Toward a More Perfect Union — On-camera interviews with writers, historians, and everyday people who share experiences on what it means to be an American.
The 20th Century in Retrospect: The Decade of Turmoil 1938-1948 - a conference on Czech and Slovak history and culture — 14-Tape Set of lectures and discussions held at the conference sponsored by the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids in 2003.
The Uses of Suffrage: Women, Politics, and Social Change Since 1920 — A conference held at the University of Iowa in 1996 dealing with women’s history since 1920.
Voices from the Prairie: The 1st Annual Iowa Writers’ Celebration — (September 2000) Readings from Iowa poets Michael Carey, Donald Justice, and Mary Swander and Iowa Poet Laureate Marvin Bell; moderated by David Hamilton. Includes question and answer with audience. 1 hour, 39 minutes.
History of Coal Mining in Boone County (2003)—An overview of the history of coal mining in Boone County with interviews of living coal miners interwoven with historical photos and narrative. 26 minutes, Bonus 7-minute video features the experiences of miner Martin Burke