On this ReadTheSpirit resource page, you’ll find information about online documentaries—actual inspirational videos that we review and recommend, streamed live on demand—for free. This is a terrific resource for everyone and that’s especially true for students and small-group leaders looking to spark spirited discussion. Current online offerings include:
The documentary “William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe”
(This inspirational video is free, online, right now.)
If you missed the PBS debut of “William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe,” you’re not too late! The PBS-POV series is making this entire, feature-length documetnary available online—through Sept. 21.
Excerpt from our film review: What drove William Kunstler to become the prophetic hero to many in the 1960s and 1970s? The film argues that Kunstler, born in 1919, remembered the scars of injustice that marked many Americans in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. … When the ACLU invited him to visit Mississippi in 1961, he stepped into an entirely new world of possible actions to right some of the injustices he had seen. (Read our entire film review here.)
WHERE TO SEE THIS VIDEO: Click here to jump to the PBS POV website. You’ll see a link that says “Online … through September 21, 2010. Watch Now.”
The South African documentary “Promised Land”
(This inspirational video also is free online, now.)
If you missed the PBS debut of “Promised Land,” the network also is inviting viewers to come see the full-length documentary online in this case through October 5.
Excerpt from our film review: In “Promised Land,” you’ll meet black families who have lived generations on land they were legally prevented from owning by white rulers. Many black families finally want to own their family land again. You’ll follow one black family’s quest. But that’s not all you’ll see. In this film, you’ll also meet white South Africans who have owned their farms since the early 1800s—for five and six generations in some cases.Think about that time frame. Do you begin to see American connections here? We do! (Our entire review of the documentary is here.)
WHERE TO SEE THIS VIDEO: Click here for the PBS page with a link for online viewing.
Documentary on Arts & Aging, “Beaches of Agnès”
(This inspirational video also is free online, now.)
“Beaches of Agnès” also is part of PBS’ POV online program. In this case, the feature-length inspirational autobiographical video by French filmmaker and artist Agnès Varda is online through Aug. 14.
Excerpt from our film review: Agnès Varda is celebrating storytelling itself and she’s illustrating this through stories that continually surprise and move us. There are moments in this mature film when your eyes will pop. I guarantee that you won’t like all of the little tales she tells. But, if you watch and listen closely, you’ll discover that Varda is showing us something distinctive about the way women preserve and tell stories. (Read our entire film review here.)
WHERE TO SEE THIS FREE VIDO: Click here for the PBS POV website.
Video “The Journey Toward Oneness” free online July 11
ReadTheSpirit partners, this year, with the LinkTV-Global Spirit video series. Unlike the PBS documentaries, listed above, the Global Spirit series is broadcast online at specific times. Sunday July 11, you can watch “The Journey to Oneness,” a full-length documentary featuring the popular Sufi scholar and teacher Llewellyn Vaughan Lee, shown at right.
HERE IS WHERE TO SEE IT:
Visit our ReadTheSpirit/Global Spirit resource page, where you can view the documentary on the evening of July 11. That page also describes the film you’ll see.
ENJOY OUR ENTIRE GREAT SUMMER READING AND VIEWING SERIES: (Our series so far: “Crown of Aleppo,” “Science Vs. Religion,” “Belief,” “Apparition,” “Burma VJ,” “Facets World Cup,” “Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth” “The Lonely Polygamist,” “Rise and Shine,” “Saints,” “Beaches of Agnes,” “Mystically Wired,” “Creative Aging” and “Twelve by Twelve.”)
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