2019 Prize Finalists
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“Flannery” - WINNER External link
Directed by Elizabeth Coffman & Mark Bosco, S.J.
A gothic story fueled by televangelists and girls with wooden legs, “Flannery” covers the biography of writer Flannery O’Connor with archival footage and creative motion graphics. A devout Catholic who walked with crutches, O’Connor wrote about the enduring prejudices of the post-war south. Mystery and manners abound in this work.
LOC Collection Connections:
- O'Connor uses the backdrop of the South often as a primary character in several of her best known works. The Library’s Storymap Surveying the South Story Map highlights the 1930s Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South conducted by Frances Benjamin Johnston and transports viewers into this Southern world that O'Connor's works draw upon.
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“Mae West: Dirty Blonde” - RUNNER-UP External link
Directed by Sally Rosenthal & Julia Marchesi.
“MAE WEST: DIRTY BLONDE” is a feature-length historical documentary film developed by Peeled Grape Productions LLC for PBS’ American Masters. The film explores the extraordinary career and legacy of this complex cultural figure, who left an indelible imprint on American entertainment as a writer, performer, and agitator for social change.
LOC Collection Connections:
- The Library holds a number of collections related to legendary actress Mae West including
- Movie posters of Mae West
- Images, some are digitized, from the New York World-Telegram and Sun Collection
- And a small set of unpublished Mae West play scripts, including: "The Ruby Ring" (1921), "The Hussy" (1922), "Chick" (1924), "Sex" (1926), "The Wicked Age" (1927), "The Drag" (1927), "The Pleasure Man" (1928), "Diamond Lil" (1928), "Frisco Kate" (1930), "Catherine Was Great" (1944), "Come on Over, or Embassy Row" (1946), "Sextette" (two versions, 1952 and 1961), and "Diamond Lil" (two versions, 1928 and 1964).
- The Library holds a number of collections related to legendary actress Mae West including
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“Mr. Soul!” - FINALIST External link
Directed by Melissa Haizlip.
Before Oprah, before Arsenio, there was “Mr. SOUL!” An in-depth look at the late 1960s WNET public television series SOUL! and its producer Ellis Haizlip, who provided expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement.
LOC Collection Connections:
- Watch excerpts External link of SOUL! From the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.
- Explore the Library’s Carl Van Vechten collection including many portraits of Black artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance
- Find out more about contemporary Black artists with our blog post
- Discover Roland L. Freeman's African American expressive culture in Philadelphia project featuring everyday life in the 1980s and read about the collection in our blog post from the Prints and Photograph’s Division on processing the collection.
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“The Adventures of Saul Bellow” - FINALIST External link
Directed by Asaf Galay.
This is the first major documentary on one of America’s greatest writers, Saul Bellow. The film examines Bellow’s influence on American literature, explores Bellow as a public figure, and looks at how he dealt with key issues of his time, including race, gender, and the Jewish and immigrant experience.
LOC Collection Connections:
- Watch this MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour conversation External link between Saul Bellow and Robert MacNeil in 1987 at the time of the publication of Bellow's novel More Die of Heartbreak.
- Not all of the Library’s collections are available online. The Manuscript Division holds both Saul Bellow’s autobiographical short story draft, as well as correspondence with Bellow and these politicians and intellectuals:
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“The First Angry Man” - FINALIST External link
Directed by Jason Cohn & Camille Servan-Schreiber.
“The First Angry Man” tells the story of political outsider Howard Jarvis and the California property tax revolt he led during Governor Jerry Brown’s first term in 1978. Historians credit Jarvis’ campaign for Proposition 13 with triggering a national anti-tax, anti-government movement with immeasurable and enduring consequences.
LOC Collection Connections:
- Watch Howard Jarvis and Bruce Sumner debate Proposition 13 on this 1978 broadcast from KOCE-TV in southern California, as well as this MacNeil/Lehrer Report External link on the Jarvis Amendment, featuring Jarvis as a guest.
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“9 to 5: The Story of a Movement” - FINALIST External link
Directed by Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert.
This historical documentary tells the story of a grassroots national movement of women clerical workers who endured low pay, disrespect and sexual harassment. By the early 1970s, they had had enough. They gathered their courage, rose up against their bosses and started fighting for a better life.
LOC Collection Connections:
- Watch this 1976 interview External link with two organizers in the 9 to 5 movement on the Boston radio show Pantechnicon.
- Explore the Library's online resources related to Women's Rights in the 1970s.