Tacoma Reads 2024: Movies

DVD - 2019

In part one, after 40 years of running a community arts center, Dorothea and Greta are suddenly fighting for survival when a celebrity couple come to town...Show more In part one, after 40 years of running a community arts center, Dorothea and Greta are suddenly fighting for survival when a celebrity couple come to town and build an enormous complex down the street. Part two revolves around rehearsals for the Greek play, Hecuba, but the real theatrics are outside the theater where the town has been invaded by bizarre tourists and mysterious tech start-up workers. Show less

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Casablanca beats

DVD - 2022

Director Nabil Ayouch drew on his own experience opening a youth cultural center in Casablanca for this story of a former rapper named Anas who takes a jo...Show more Director Nabil Ayouch drew on his own experience opening a youth cultural center in Casablanca for this story of a former rapper named Anas who takes a job teaching hip hop in an underprivileged neighborhood. Despite differences in identity, religion, and politics, Anas encourages his students to bond together and break free from the weight of restrictive traditions in order to follow their passion and express themselves through the arts. Featuring a dynamic ensemble of first-time actors, many of them students of the real-life cultural center where the film was shot, Casablanca Beats is a vibrant and inspiring coming-of-age hip hop musical with a decidedly feminist edge. Mixing intimate yet high stakes drama with infectious musical sequences, the film transports audiences to a lively and contemporary Casablanca, far from the clichš about the Arab world. Show less

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The Garden

DVD - 2008

The 14 acre community garden in South Central Los Angeles was the largest of it's kind in the United States. It was started as a form of healing after the...Show more The 14 acre community garden in South Central Los Angeles was the largest of it's kind in the United States. It was started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992. Since that time, the South Central Farmers have created a miracle in one of the country's most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. But now bulldozers threaten their oasis. The Garden is an unflinching look at the struggle between these urban farmers and the City of Los Angeles and a powerful developer who want to evict them and build warehouses. Show less

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Harlem Rising

A Community Changing the Odds

DVD - 2022

Harlem Rising is a feature-length documentary tracing the fifty-year history of the Harlem Children's Zone through folks in the community who grew up with the organization. Harlem Rising is a feature-length documentary tracing the fifty-year history of the Harlem Children's Zone through folks in the community who grew up with the organization. Show less

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The Hate U Give

DVD - 2019

Starr Carter navigates the perilous waters between her poor, black neighborhood and her prestigious, mainly white private school. This all changes when sh...Show more Starr Carter navigates the perilous waters between her poor, black neighborhood and her prestigious, mainly white private school. This all changes when she finds herself in the middle of racial activism after her best friend is shot by police officers, and she's forced to make a decision. Allow the media to skewer her friend to protect the status quo, or stand up and tell the truth in memory of Khalil? Show less

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Never Too Late

Streaming Video - 2020

It has been a long time since Caine, Bronson, Angus, and Wendell, aka 'the Chain Breakers,' escaped the torturous Vietnamese POW camp. They now find thems...Show more It has been a long time since Caine, Bronson, Angus, and Wendell, aka 'the Chain Breakers,' escaped the torturous Vietnamese POW camp. They now find themselves sharing a new prison: the Hogan Hills Retirement Home. Each of the boys has an unrealized dream they want to achieve before it's too late. So, once again, they band together to devise a plan to escape this new hell. But the rules of engagement have changed and they can't even remember what they were and that's half the problem. Show less

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The Pledge

DVD - 2013

Tory Hedderman is a typical, self-centered 16-year-old with the motto, 'If it doesn't have to do with me, why should I care?' However, when Tory is caught...Show more Tory Hedderman is a typical, self-centered 16-year-old with the motto, 'If it doesn't have to do with me, why should I care?' However, when Tory is caught vandalizing a statue of a World War I vet, he is ordered to perform community service at a local veterans' home where he comes face to face with those who teach him about the sacrifices that have been made for the country. Features footage of real veterans sharing their thoughts on patriotism and freedom. Show less

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The Resurrection of Gavin Stone

DVD - 2017

Gavin Stone, a washed-up former child star is forced to do community service at a local mega-church and pretends to be Christian so he can land the part o...Show more Gavin Stone, a washed-up former child star is forced to do community service at a local mega-church and pretends to be Christian so he can land the part of Jesus in their annual passion play only to discover that the most important role of his life is far from Hollywood. Show less

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Suburbicon

DVD - 2018

A peaceful, idyllic suburban community with affordable homes and manicured lawns, the perfect place to raise a family, and in the summer of 1959, the Lodg...Show more A peaceful, idyllic suburban community with affordable homes and manicured lawns, the perfect place to raise a family, and in the summer of 1959, the Lodge family is doing just that. The tranquil surface masks a disturbing reality, as husband and father Gardner Lodge must navigate the town's dark underbelly of betrayal, deceit, and violence. This is a tale of very flawed people making very bad choices. Show less

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To Us the Ashes

DVD - 2021

A reference and ode to Chief Seattle's Treaty of 1854, is a collection of five Indigenous Documentary Shorts from across the world. As each short highligh...Show more A reference and ode to Chief Seattle's Treaty of 1854, is a collection of five Indigenous Documentary Shorts from across the world. As each short highlights different Indigenous stories of fly fishing conservationists in the Pacific Northwest to a young Lakota woman creating a girls' boxing team, they each embody the ingenuity and tenacity of Indigenous People across the world. Show less

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Treme

The Complete First Season

DVD - 2011

Amid the ruins of New Orleans, ordinary people--musicians, chefs, residents--find themselves clinging to a unique culture and wondering if the city that gave birth to that culture still has a future. Amid the ruins of New Orleans, ordinary people--musicians, chefs, residents--find themselves clinging to a unique culture and wondering if the city that gave birth to that culture still has a future. Show less

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Women Talking

DVD - 2023

The women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith. Though the backstory, we see a community of women co...Show more The women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith. Though the backstory, we see a community of women come together to figure out how they might move forward together to build a better world for themselves and their children. Stay and fight or leave. They will not do nothing. Show less

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