Alas, the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival has come to an end, so where will you track down more great movies this summer? The Seattle Public Library, that’s where! Few of this year’s films are yet available, but SPL does have some from last year’s Golden Space Needle Award Winners. Three that I recently enjoyed were great for their unflinching treatment of contemporary social issues:
Any Day Now
When a teenager with Down syndrome is abandoned by his mother, a gay couple takes him in and become the loving family he’s never had. When their living arrangement is discovered, the men are forced to fight a biased legal system to save the life of the child they have come to love as their own.
The Invisible War
This is an eye-opening documentary about the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. Follow the stories of several idealistic young servicewomen who were raped and then betrayed by their own officers when they courageously came forward to report the crimes.
Abduction of Eden
Hyun Jae is a young Korean-American girl forced into prostitution in a human trafficking ring. Her kidnappers rename her ‘Eden’ and she soon learns the only way to survive is to earn the trust of those in charge. As Eden’s influence within the operation grows, she must decide just how much of herself she’s willing to lose to survive.
But maybe you’re looking for something else! Well, did you know you can browse online for the newest additions to the library’s movie collection? Two links I check frequently are the New Feature Films and New TV Shows that SPL has on order. One I plan on seeing soon is Venus and Serena, a documentary about two
of sports history’s most successful sisters. Another one I noticed was The Brother from Another Planet in which an alien has crash-landed in New York City. He is mute, empathic, and struggles to make a place for himself in Harlem. I really loved this movie, especially the eighties-esque intro spaceship crash scene. While not a new movie per se, I like that the library still buys copies of older movies.
And finally, remember that anyone can make the SPL collection reflect community interests by making purchase suggestions.
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