Snagfilms

Twitter strikes again....
550 documentaries of mainly American origin which can be viewed or widgetised for a webpage.
Here's a sample that might be of relevance in a geography classroom....

The films include short commercials, usually for American products


Boomtown BeijingBoomtown Beijing is a film about the city of Beijing, its people and their dreams the summer before the Olympics. The 2008 Olympics Games is China’s debutante ball on the world stage. “ Faster. Higher. Stronger” — the preparation for the Games has turned Beijing into a hot spot of frenzied growth. A 11 year old boy wants to beat the odds to become an Olympics torch-bearer. A road sweeper dreams of staging his own mass Olympics countdown performance. An aging blind athlete makes one last stab at a Paralympics medal before he retires from sports. Together, their stories and scenes of everyday life in the city give a snapshot of Beijing the summer before the Olympics.

China's Lost Girls National Geographic host Lisa Ling examines the consequences of China’s two-decade-old, ‘’one child policy’’ designed to curb the country’s exploding population. Due to cultural, social and economic factors, traditional preference leans toward boys, so girls are often hidden, aborted, or abandoned. As a result, tens of thousands of girls end up in orphanages across China. Today, more than one quarter of all babies adopted from abroad by American families come from China—and nearly all are girls. Ling joins some of these families as they travel to China to meet their new daughters for the first time. Along this emotional journey, she shares in the joy of these growing families and also witnesses firsthand China’s gender gap, its roots, and its possible repercussions. 

Farther than the eye can see An intimate look inside one of the most successful Mount Everest expeditions ever. This award-winning film beautifully captures the emotion, humor and drama of blind climber Erik Weihenmayer’s historic ascent as well as four other remarkable ‘firsts’ on Mount Everest.

“Though there were questions about the wisdom of the attempt before the team even left home, the clear and definitive success of the expedition proves what people working together, with a common vision, can accomplish. By rallying behind Erik, nineteen of twenty-one team members stood on the top. The oldest climber ever reached the summit along with his son, an American first. And finally, with the help of Sherpas, we were able to bring an HD camera along to capture historic moments with Erik and his team on the summit.” - Michael Brown, Director


Also features films like SUPERSIZE ME....


Comments

Anonymous said…
Thanks for such a comprehensive, thoughtful post! These films help teachers teach, illuminate global issues and expand everyone's lens on the world.