To aid in the selection of video's for your class and research needs, we've created a large number of filmographies on many subject areas.
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This is a selective list of video holdings in the American University Library. Filmographies are created by doing multiple keyword searches in the catalog to capture as many titles on a topic as possible.
For complete, up-to-date holdings please search the library catalog search box on the Media Services homepage. (http://www.american.edu/library/mediaservices/) Finding Aids on the same page includes other subject oriented content.
For more information take a look at the Streaming Video Guides and Browsing Collections.
See also the streaming video collection - Platino Educa
Agustin's newspaper. 1 streaming video file (80 min.). Journalism students at the University of Chile embark on an investigation of El Mercurio, the oldest newspaper in Chile. Streaming video.
Bombón, el perro = Bombón, the dog. 2009, 1 videodisc (97 min.). Life has not been a bed of roses for 52-year-old Juan 'Coco' Villegas. Juan has been a gas station attendant for twenty years in Patagonia and finds himself jobless overnight. He first tries to survive by selling knives of his own making. But business is bad and he can't find real work. One day though, after fixing a vehicle on a farm, he gets paid, not with money, but with a beautiful Argentinian watch-dog. From this blessed day on, things start looking up. DVD 9697.
Carancho. 2011, 1 videodisc (107 min.). 22 deaths a day, 683 a month, over 8,000 a year, 100,000 over the last decade. In Argentina, traffic accidents are decimating those 35 and under. Festering beneath Argentina's crime-plagued, class-divided society is the quasi-lawless realm of motor vehicle accidents and their aftermath. Sosa is an ambulance-chasing lawyer. He's lost his license, so now he works the late-night streets of Buenos Aires, signing up injured clients for a predatory firm that will pay them perhaps a quarter, or a fifth, of what the insurance companies pay. Luján is an overworked young doctor who takes ambulance shifts for extra money. Her level of sleeplessness and chemical intake renders her less than desirable for performing emergency life-and-death surgery, but to Sosa Luján seems to be a ministering angel who can redeem his sleazoid existence. While Luján and Sosa can fall in love, the more vital question is can they escape the grim logic of their situation, evade responsibility for their own actions, and outrun a machine determined to destroy them? HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 3405.
La danza de la realidad = the dance of reality. 1 videodisc (129 min.). A mystical autobiography of Alejandro Jodorowsky's childhood that blends his personal history with metaphor, mythology, and poetry. It reflects his philosophy that reality is not objective, but rather a "dance" created by our own imaginations. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 12777.
El botón de nácar = The pearl button. 1 videodisc (81 min.). Documentary that masterfully explores the significance of water in Chile's vast history and culture, examining the indigenous tribes of the western Patagonian waterways and the tragic journey of Jemmy Button, who in 1830 was bought by the English navy for the price of a mother of pearl button. The film ends by discussing how Pinochet's forces used waterways to dump the bodies of disappeared persons that they had executed. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 14794.
El chacal de Nahueltoro = The jackal of Nahueltoro. 2006, 1 videodisc (95 min.). The portrait of Jose del Carmen Valenzuela Torres, one of Chile's most infamous murderers. While out walking, he meets a mother and four children. A night of debauchery leads to one of the most savage pointless killing sprees in Chilean history. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 2930.
El club. 1 videodisc (97 min.). Four priests exiled to a small Chilean seaside town to atone for the sins of their pasts find their fragile stability disrupted by the arrival of a newly-disgraced companion in this taut blackly comic drama. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 13312.
Límite. 2008, 1 videodisc (91 min.). “In an environment of political corruption, a counterfeiting money band runs unchallenged. But when a beautiful detective decides to investigate the origins of a falsified $100 bill she becomes trapped in the corruption. How deep does it go and who can she turn to when no one can be trusted?"--Container. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10839.
Machuca. 2006, 1 videodisc (116 min.). In 1973, the Chilean military, under the direction of General Augusto Pinochet and backed by the CIA, overthrew the shaky socialist government of democratically elected President Salvador Allende. The coup led to the murder of 3,000 leftist Allende supporters and the detention of an estimated 250,000 political prisoners. Set against the background of the political instability that led to the crisis, Andrés Wood's Machuca is the moving story of the friendship between two boys from different sides of the social spectrum. DVD 2932 and Streaming video.
La nana = The maid. 2010, 1 videodisc (94 min.). Raquel has worked as a housemaid for an upper-class Santiago, Chile, family for 23 years. On Raquel's 41st birthday, Pilar Valdez and family force the sullen, withdrawn maid to emerge from her kitchen sanctum and join the family for a celebration, but her discomfort is as strong as the family's need to acknowledge their awkward dependence on her. Raquel becomes unable to care for the house alone and new help is hired, which throws her into a jealous frenzy. The home soon becomes the stage for Raquel's darkly comedic tricks as she drives away anyone trying to take her place. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 7717.
Neruda. 1 videodisc (108 min.). An inspector hunts down Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, who becomes a fugitive in his home country in the late 1940s for joining the Communist Party. Sexuality/nudity and some language. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 14605.
No. 2013, 1 videodisc (118 min.). An ad executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile's 1988 referendum. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10736.
Les noces de papier = The paper wedding. 2000, 1 videodisc (90 min.). Bored with her work and her long term affair with a married man, a professor is persuaded to enter into a marriage of convenience with a Chilean political refugee. DVD 516.
Nostalgia de la luz = Nostalgia for the light. 2011, 1 videodisc (90 min.). Director Patricio Guzman travels to the driest place on earth, Chile's Atacama Desert, where astronomers examine distant galaxies, archaeologists uncover traces of ancient civilizations, and women dig for the remains of disappeared relatives. DVD 9119 and Streaming video.
Olvidados = Forgotten. 1 videodisc (112 min.). After suffering a heart attack, retired General Jose Mendieta is haunted by his dark past as an officer in Operation Condor, the CIA-backed campaign of political repression in Latin America that was responsible for executions, torture, and imprisonments in the 1970s. In a letter to his son Pablo, Mendieta confesses the role he played in the abduction, persecution, and execution of countless men and women during his posting to Chile. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 12911.
The Pinochet case. 1 streaming video file (109 min.). Investigates the legal case against Augusto Pinochet for crimes against humanity. DVD 4854 and Streaming video.
Pinochet's last stand. 2008, 1 videodisc (ca. 77 min.). In 1973, Gen. Pinochet overtook Chile in a violent coup. In 1998 came the surprise arrest of the former Chilean dictator for crimes against humanity. Armed with a diplomatic passport and apparent immunity, the retired general visited Great Britain for a vacation that was to forever change his life -- and the prospects for dictators across the globe. Amnesty International spearheaded the long-awaited arrest with help from the Spanish and British governments, but faced a pro-Pinochet publicity campaign masterminded by one of the dictator's few allies, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. As the dissenting faction pushed for an extradition trail, 500 days passed with Pinochet held under house arrest in an exclusive suburban London community. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 13280.
Post mortem. 2012, 1 videodisc (98 min.). In Chile, 1973, during the last days of Salvador Allende's presidency, an employee at a Morgue's recording office falls for a burlesque dancer who mysteriously disappears. DVD 10867 and Streaming video.
Pretendiendo = Ugly me. 2009, 1 videodisc (ca. 118 min.). Disillusioned after learning of her boyfriend's infidelity and being fired from her job, Amanda, a beautiful and talented architect, decides to start a new life, transforming herself into someone "completely different" to escape from love. However, when she meets Marcelo, a womanizer, she decides to teach him a lesson as "Helena.". HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10050.
Que hacer. 2005, 1 videodisc (92 min.). This spy story-musical feature is set during the years of the Popular Unity government and the CIA's efforts to overthrow Salvador Allende's socialist government. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 2207.
La sagrada familia = The sacred family. 2008, 1 videodisc (99 min.). "A dinner guest turns a family's Easter weekend upside down in this sophisticated comedy drama from Chile. On Good Friday, college freshman Marco brings his beautiful new girlfriend Sofia to meet his parents at their house on the beach. Sofia quickly charms everyone, but her impulsiveness and honesty hint at her disruptive nature. When Marco's mother is unexpectedly called away, Sofia's flirtatious and manipulative ways soon expose latent frictions, sexual tensions, and the unspoken rules that tie the family together."--Container. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10414.
Stranded I've come from a plane that crashed on the mountains--. 2009, 1 videodisc (126 min.). On October 13, 1972, a young rugby team from Montevideo, Uruguay, boarded a plane for a match in Chile, then vanished into thin air. Sixteen of the 45 passenger resurfaced, 72 days after their plane crashed. Thirty-five years later, the survivors returned to tell their story in their own words. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 12561.
Sub terra. 2004, 1 videodisc (108 min.). "The town of Lota, Chile, 1897 is the setting that reflects a history of human and social changes. In the depths of the biggest coal mine in the world, a grand rebellion develops in the heart of a man. While the aristocratic family of Cousiäno Goyenechea dreams of progress, the coal miners awaken in their search for dignity"--Container. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10114.
Tony Manero. 2010, 1 videodisc (98 min.). Raúl Peralta, a middle-aged criminal in 1970's Chile, is obsessed with the idea of impersonating Tony Manero, John Travolta's character in Saturday Night Fever. Every Saturday evening, he unleashes his passion for the film's music by imitating his idol and leading a small group of dancers as they perform at a bar in the outskirts of the city. His dream of being recognized as a successful showbiz star is about to become a reality when a Tony Manero impersonating contest is announced on national television. However, his obsession to reproduce his idol's likeness and perfect his act drives him to commit a series of violent crimes and thefts, leading to shocking violence and murder. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 8629 and Streaming video.
Vereda tropical. 2005, 1 videodisc (105 min.). Manuel Puig, author of Kiss of the Spider Woman, spent the later years of his life in Rio de Janeiro. Here, Manuel freely expressed his homosexuality and pursued an insatiable love of writing, romance, and an illicit affair with a powerful diplomat. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 1465.
Violeta went to heaven. 1 online resource (1 video file, approximately 110 min.). Violeta went to heaven tells the story of famed Chilean singer and folklorist Violeta Parra, tracing her evolution from impoverished child to international sensation and Chile's national hero, while capturing the swirling intensity of her inner contradictions, fallibilities, and passions. From the marquee that she built in Santiago, Chile, Violeta Parra is visited by people who shaped her life. We gradually find out her secrets, fears, frustrations and joys, not only through performances of her multiple works but also through her memories, her loves, and her hopes. Her achievements are suspended in a passionate journey with the characters who made her dream, laugh and cry. Streaming video.
The window. 2009, 1 videodisc (77 min.). "It is a significant day for 80-year-old Antonio. His estranged son is coming to visit and all must be perfect. There will be a special champagne toast; an embrace; warm words that may finally bridge the gap between them. But first, Antonio must wait. Bedridden, he looks out his window at the Patagonian landscape and sees the past and present, while sensing the future. He escapes the eyes of his faithful caretakers and leaves the house for what might be a last walk in his fields, inhaling the scent of the land that has been his life."--Container. HOME USE COLLECTION DVD 10789.