Movies by William Greaves
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Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One
In Manhattan's Central Park, a film crew directed by William Greaves is shooting a screen test with various pairs of actors. It's a confrontation between a couple: he demands to know what's wrong, she challenges his sexual orientation. Cameras shoot the exchange, and another camera records Greaves and his crew. Sometimes we watch the crew discussing this scene, its language, and the process of making a movie. Is there such a thing as natural language? Are all things related to sex? The camera records distractions - a woman rides horseback pa...
Fighter for Freedom: The Frederick Douglass Story
Frederick Douglass, Fighter for Freedom is a 19-minute documentary on the life and times of Frederick Douglass. Historic photos and documdrama segments cover the live of this great orator, emancipator and statesman. The story is told by a young narrator.
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Emergency Ward
This 1959 documentary short is a frank portrait of the daily operations inside the Montreal General Hospital’s emergency ward.
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Wealth of a Nation
This film explores freedom of speech in the United States of America
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Still A Brother: Inside the Negro Middle Class
The Black middle class, torn between white goals and Black needs, are examined by producers William Greaves and William Branch in a 90-minute NET Journal documentary.
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Black Power in America: Myth or Reality?
The film questions whether the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s effectively changed the Black community, and American society more widely, and examines the notion of Black power itself. Greaves interviewed major Black leaders, such as Franklin Thomas, Clifton Wharton Jr., Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Lerone Bennett Jr. to present a candid take on issues within the African American community, revealing wider societal problems in America at large.
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Frederick Douglass: An American Life
This director's cut of the William Greaves' documentary short film dramatizes the life and deeds of the noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
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That's Black Entertainment
This documentary presents clips from black films from 1929 through 1957.
Where Dreams Come True
Directed by African American William Greaves and narrated by actor Ricardo Montalban, Where Dreams Come True is a 1979 NASA film highlighting the contributions of women and minorities and encouraging more to consider a career at the agency. The documentary includes interviews with astronaut-scientists Kathryn Sullivan and Ronald McNair, research psychologist Patricia Cowings, engineer Ruben Ramos, and former astronaut and deputy administrator Frederick Gregory. Much of the work depicted in this film relates to the fledgling Space Shuttle pro...
Space For Women
Designed for class instruction and career education, and to prove that space exploration isn’t just for the boys. The film interviews women employed in the space transportation programs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and shows the variety of positions that they hold as electrical engineers, aerial photography analysts, safety specialists and astronaut mission specialists. It notes how the women obtained their training and qualified for their positions. Astronaut Anna Lee Fisher, Dr. Patricia Cowings, Shirley Chev...
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The Marijuana Affair
An American detective investigates the drug trade's influence on violence in Jamaica and corruption among government officials and high-ranking members of the police force.