Film Series

The Allen Public Library hosts a monthly film series with a variety of themes and topics.  All movies are FREE and open to the public.  Come join us in the Civic Auditorium! Call Tom Keener for more information: 214-509-4911

Archive of Previous Film Series Articles

January - ALLen Reads Film Series

 January 5 | January 12 | January 19 | January 26

Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) will begin at 6:30 p.m. on January 5th.
 

A short discussion will follow with Anthony Gibson, Fine Arts Director, Allen ISD.

Summary:  Glenn Holland is a musician and composer who takes a teaching job to pay the rent while, in his 'spare time', he can strive to achieve his true goal - compose one memorable piece of music to leave his mark on the world. As Holland discovers 'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans' and as the years unfold the joy of sharing his contagious passion for music with his students becomes his new definition of success. 

View the trailer here.

[Top]

The Pianist (2003) will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on January 12th. 

Prior to The Pianist, view the international premiere of Plagues of the Soul.    Max Glauben, a Warsaw Ghetto survivor, will introduce the film at 6 p.m.  The 28 minute film chronicles Glauben’s own internment, liberation and efforts to prevent holocausts throughout the world. 

Summary of The Pianist:  A brilliant pianist, a Polish Jew, witnesses the restrictions Nazis place on Jews in the Polish capital, from restricted access to the building of the Warsaw ghetto. As his family is rounded up to be shipped off to the Nazi labor camps, he escapes deportation and eludes capture by living in the ruins of Warsaw.

View the trailer here.

 
[Top]

The Glenn Miller Story will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on January 19th.

Special musical selections from Glenn Miller's repertoire will be played preceding and following the film.  Music will be selected by Jeff Timbs, library director and jazz enthusiast.

Summary:  The biography of the Bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944, with a lot of his arangements, partly in an authentic cast.

[Top]

The Oscar nominated film, Young at Heart , is the final film for this series and plays on January 26th at 6:30 p.m.

A short discussion will follow with Nancy Churnin, Film Critic and Staff writer at the Dallas Morning News.

Summary:  Documents the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, whose average age is 81, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music is unexpected, going against the stereotype of their age group, performing songs, for example, by James Brown, and Sonic Youth. Although they have toured Europe and sang for royalty, this account focuses on preparing new songs, not an easy endeavor, for a concert in their home town, which succeeds in spite of several real heart breaking events.
 

View the trailer here.
 

[Top]