New Streaming Database: Docuseek
Introducing Docuseek
Docuseek streams essential independent, social-issue and environmental films to colleges, universities and K-12 schools, providing exclusive access to content from renowned leaders in documentary film distribution, including Icarus Films, Women Make Movies, and Kartemquin Films.
New Releases in Documentary
THE FIVE DEMANDS is a riveting story about the student strike that changed the face of higher education forever. In April 1969, a small group of Black and Puerto Rican students shut down the City College of New York, an elite public university located in the heart of Harlem. Through archival footage and modern-day interviews, we follow the students’ struggle against the institutional racism that, for over a century, had shut out people of color from this and other public universities.
Documentary Classics
Docuseek includes classic documentaries like THE BATTLE OF CHILE (1975, Icarus Films). 'Not only the best film about Allende and the coup d'etat, but among the best documentary films ever made, changing our concepts of political documentary within a framework accessible to the widest audience.' -Time Out Film Guide
Women Make Movies
Part of the Women Make Movies collection, THE ARCHIVETTES (2018) explores the fascinating history of The Lesbian Herstory Archives. Founded in the 1970s in a New York City apartment, The Lesbian Herstory Archives is now the world’s largest collection of materials by and about lesbians. For more than 40 years, the all-volunteer organization has striven to combat lesbian invisibility by literally rescuing history from the trash.
Find Streaming Video in OneSearch
When searching for streaming videos, head to the Advanced Search page in OneSearch. Select whether you want to search GC-only or expand the search to All CUNY libraries (this is useful if you have a dual affiliation). Set the first search filter to Title > Starts With and enter the name of the film you’re looking for. In the Material Type dropdown on the right, select Video/Film, then click the green search button on the lower right. See the sample search here for the documentary, "The Split Horn: Life of a Hmong Shaman in America" (2001):
On the results page, look for "Available Online" (as shown in the second item listed below) to locate a streaming version of the film:
Finding DVDs in the library
The library's DVD collection is held behind the Circulation Desk on the 1st floor and is not accessible to patrons. Use the spreadsheet here to browse our collection; be sure to click the link to OneSearch to check availability before visiting the library. You can also search for DVDs by title directly in OneSearch.
- DVD and Video ListA spreadsheet export from the library catalog listing films on DVD or VHS held by the Graduate Center library.
GC Streaming Video Collections
MUBI
MUBI is a streaming service for film lovers. As of December 2020, students and faculty can sign up for a discounted account using your GC email address. (In December 2020, MUBI discontinued its film schools program which offered free accounts to faculty and students; those with existing free accounts will retain them as VIP accounts). MUBI offers a rotating selection of streaming films, and a newly expanded library of on-demand films. Browse their catalog here.
Online Streaming Video Sources
- Black Film ArchiveUpdated weekly, the Black Film Archive showcases Black films made from 1915 to 1979 that are currently streaming.
- British Pathé ArchiveA digital news archive that allows users to preview items from the entire 3500 hour British Pathé Film Archive which covers news, sport, social history and entertainment from 1896 to 1970.
- CrackleCrackle is a free to use video entertainment network featuring full-length movies, TV shows, and original programming. It is available on a wide variety of platforms including connected TVs, mobile devices, set-top boxes, video game consoles and online at Crackle.com.
- Criterion ChannelPersonal subscription required at $10.99/mo. Classics and discoveries from around the world, thematically programmed with special features, on a streaming service brought to you by the Criterion Collection. Constantly refreshed selections of Hollywood, international, art-house, and independent movies, plus access to Criterion’s entire streaming library of more than 1,000 important classic and contemporary films.
- Electronic Arts Intermix Educational Streaming Videos
Electronic Arts Intermix's (EAI) Educational Streaming service provides full-length, streaming videos by artists. The artists represented range from influential figures in video art — such as Nam June Paik, Carolee Schneeman, Martha Rosler and Joan Jonas — to emerging multidisciplinary artists, including Paper Rad, Cory Arcangel and Takeshi Murata. The collection speaks to the rich history of single-channel video art, from artists' earliest analog video experiments of the 1960s to new digital media practices.
The list of artists with streaming videos is here, and the whole EAI collection is described in the broader artists catalog which includes items that are not available remotely. Unfortunately, these films are not searchable in OneSearch.
- European Film GatewayThe European Film Gateway is a web portal offering access to film and film-related treasures collected and preserved by over 30 European film archives. It is a search engine which offers you centralised access to digital collections dispersed on different national websites.
- Film Archives Online: Streaming FilmsFilm Archives Online provides free and easy access to moving image collections of film archives from all over Europe. Select films are available for online viewing.
- The Living Room Candidate: Historical Presidential Campaign CommercialsThe Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2012 is an online exhibition of the Museum of the Moving Image, presenting more than 300 television commercials from every election year since 1952, when the first campaign TV ads aired. The site includes a searchable database and features commentary, historical background, election results, and navigation organized by year, type of ad, and issue.
- MUBIMUBI is a streaming service for film lovers. Students and faculty can sign up for a discounted account (use your CUNY email address). MUBI offers a rotating selection of streaming films, and a newly expanded library of on-demand films.
- Netflix DocumentariesSome Netflix Original educational documentaries are available for one-time educational screenings. For details see: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/57695
- OVID.tvMonthly subscription required ($6.99/mo). OVID.tv is an initiative of Docuseek, LLC, which operates Docuseek, a streaming service for colleges and universities which was established in 2012, streaming a library of over 1600 titles.
- PeacockPeacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service, includes TV shows, movies, news, sports, and original programming. Peacock's free tier, with about two-thirds of the catalog, is available to watch right away with advertising after you register an email and password. The paid ("premium") tier opens the full collection, and you can remove ads for an additional fee. Peacock offers a standard seven-day free trial for its premium tiers
- Pluto TV: Free On-Demand MoviesFree streaming content, including thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows.
- Prelinger ArchivesPrelinger Archives was founded in 1983 by Rick Prelinger in New York City. Over the next twenty years, it grew into a collection of over 60,000 "ephemeral" (advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur) films. In 2002, the film collection was acquired by the Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division.
- Projectr via NYPLProjectr is a platform for streaming independent films. In partnership with public libraries and educational institutions across North America, Projectr presents an ever-expanding collection of acclaimed movies, archival restorations, award-winning documentaries and artist-made works from around the world. *Please log in using your New York Public Library Credentials.*
- ReelgoodAn online service that locates films across streaming services. Browse free movies and build watchlists across services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more.
- Selections from the National Film RegistrySelections from the National Film Registry, freely available as both 5 mb MP4 and ProRes 422 MOV downloads. Selections from the National Film Registry is a project of the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.
- YidioAn online database that locates the availability of films across streaming services. Enter a film title and compare pricing and availability across services like Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, Amazon Prime, Google play, iTunes, and YouTube VOD.
Film Catalogs
- AFI Catalog of Feature FilmsIncludes entries on nearly 60,000 American feature-length films and 17,000 short films produced from 1893-2011. It also includes AFI AWARDS honorees from 2000 through 2014.
Detailed information on cast, crew, plot summaries, subjects, genres and historical notes are included for each film. - Amateur Movie DatabaseThe Amateur Movie Database was developed to learn more about the world of amateur cinema. It assembles information about amateur films, filmmakers and clubs to help: researchers find out more about amateur movies; archivists to identify and contextualize amateur films; all interested parties to learn more about this alternative world of filmmaking. Films included in the database are winners of amateur movie contests or works that have been identified as significant by archives and historians.
Film and Television Archives in New York City
- Anthology Film Archives
Anthology holds invaluable collections of avant-garde films and videos, housing, protecting, and preserving works on 35mm, 16mm, and Regular- and Super-8mm film, and on various video formats, as well as film stills and audio recordings. - MoMA Film Study Center
The Celeste Bartos International Film Study Center offers screening facilities for viewing films from the Museum’s collection; a large selection of screenplays and dialogue continuities; extensive files of reviews, articles, and program notes; reference books; special collections; film indexes; and current periodicals. - Moving Image and Recorded Sound Archive (NYPL Schomburg)
The Moving Image and Recorded Sound (MIRS) Division documents the experiences of peoples of African descent, as they have been captured via audiovisual technology. The MIRS Division collections encompass a variety of formats including motion picture film (released prints and outtakes), video recordings, and music, and spoken arts recordings in several formats. - Museum of the Moving Image
Museum of the Moving Image houses artifacts from every stage of producing, promoting, and exhibiting motion pictures, television, and digital media—more than 130,000 objects in all. Holdings include licensed merchandise, technical apparatus, still photographs, production design materials, costumes, fan magazines, publicity materials, and video and computer games. - NYPL Reserve Film and Video CollectionThe Reserve Film and Video Collection includes more than 6,000 16mm films, 5,000 VHS videocassettes, and 2,000 DVDs. The New York Public Library began acquiring films in 1952, and established a film department at the Donnell Library in 1958. The library began adding videos to the collection in the 1970s. Since the collection's inception, its primary focus has been independently produced works. Careful selection practices have resulted in a collection that is impressive for its scope and depth and its overall high quality. The collection's holdings provide a very broad spectrum of both subject matter and filmmaking styles and genres. It is unique among American public libraries, and is comparable to archives held within major American museums and universities. Particular strengths of the collection are its political, social, and cultural documentaries; experimental films; video art; animation; short fictional works; and films and videos created by and for children and young adults.
