Are you looking for that perfect film that will inspire discussion? One that will serve as introduction or closure to a topic, or perfectly demonstrate a concept? Searching Google and YouTube may not be the most effective way to find great educational films. Here are some free, online video resources that you may not know about. Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention Kanopy, a resource with thousands of full length films, funded by the library, available to Connecticut College students, staff and faculty.
Warning: Exploring these resources may take you down long and winding rabbit holes!
- AdViews: A Digital Archive of Vintage TV Commercials (1950s-1980s)
Maintained by Duke University Libraries Digital Collections. - American Indian Film Gallery: The Films
Several hundred short films arranged by tribe. - AP Archive
The film and video archive of The Associated Press (AP), including over 1.7 million newsreels and stories from 1895-current. - British Council Film Collection
Archive of over 120 short documentary films made by the British Council during the 1940s designed to show the world how Britain lived, worked and played. - C-Span Video Library
Archive of government programs covering Capital Hill, The White House and U.S. politics for over 20 years. - Digital Public Library of America
The DPLA brings together digital collections from across the country into a single platform and portal. Search by keyword, then filter by “Type” to “moving image.” - Folkstreams
Documentaries on folk and roots culture, many from the 1960s. - Frontline (PBS)
Thought provoking journalism from PBS now offers their archive streaming online. - Internet Archive – Moving Images
A vast archive of public domain and ephemeral films. - The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2012
Produced by the Museum of the Moving Image. - Mosfilm
Hundreds of full length films streaming online — in Russian only. - Moving Image Archive
More than a million digital movies uploaded by various users, many of which are available for download. - The National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is a list of movies deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” that are earmarked for preservation by the Library of Congress. With few exceptions, films can can be downloaded, edited, mixed and used to create new content. - The Open Video Project
A shared digital video collection from UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Information, most with Creative Commons licensing. - SnagFilms
More than 2500 award-winning independent documentary titles - Video Data Bank
Videos by and about contemporary artists from the School of Art Institute of Chicago. - WGBH Open Vault
Provides online access to historical news and feature stories produced by the public television and radio station WGBH (Boston).
Engage 