Past event — This event ended 7 days ago.
Reel America: People Who Shape a Nation - AV Club — American Horror Stories on Screen
About the event
American authors have a history of delving into the scary, spooky and downright sinister with stories that we still read today. Join us for a 16mm film presentation where stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson and more are brought to life on screen and stay with you long after the reel ends. For more information, please contact the branch at (305) 535-4219 or capleyb@mdpls.org. Ages 14 yrs.+ About the Series: 2026 marks the United States’ semiquincentennial – its 250th birthday! Join us to celebrate the big birthday all year long with a monthly film selection showing the people from the past and present that had a hand in creating these United States. Get a monthly cinematic glimpse of what America looks like! About the Films: The Tell-Tale Heart, 1953, 7 mins. Narrated by actor James Mason, this is an award-winning animated telling of Edgar Allen Poe's classic tale of guilt of a madman who thinks he is sane. The Lottery, 1969, 18 mins. Shirley Jackson's most famous short story of the scapegoat in modern society is shown with overwhelming suspense as the citizens of a small American town gather for the annual ritual of stoning on of its citizens to death. Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, 1969, 22 mins. The consequences of tampering with nature and the rejection of conventional morality are themes used by Nathaniel Hawthorne in this short story of how Dr. Heidigger's experiment with water from the fountain of youth brings out the true characters of four old friends. The Veldt, 1979, 23 mins. An adaptation of the short story of the same title by Ray Bradbury, in which the advanced technology of a house first pleases and then increasingly terrifies its occupants. About the Film Collection The 16mm film collection has been part of the Library's holdings for over 55 years. It began in the 1960s, and its first films were part of the City of Miami’s public library before there was a county library. When MDPLS was formed, the County supplemented its local funding for films with Federal LSCA (Library Services and Construction Act) grants. Apart from leased feature films, all films were purchased for free exhibition for the life of the print. Subjects within the collection include experimental/avant-garde art films, non-narrated films, children’s films, Black history, Floridiana, and local history. Today, there are over 4,000 films within the collection. 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, The 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.
