LibGuides: Film & Video: Finding Films

Librarian for Film, Video & Digital Media

she/her/hers

Email Me

Contact:

My location: danettep@duke.edu
Call me: 919.660.5886
Lilly Library
Room 108
East Campus
Email me
My areas:
Cinematic Arts; Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies; Theater Studies

919.660-.5886

Subjects: Arts & Visual Studies, Film Studies, Social Sciences, Streaming Video, Theater Studies, Women's & Sexuality Studies

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Stuck? Ask a Librarian!

Streaming Video

Duke-affiliated patrons can access video titles in the Libraries' streaming video platforms anywhere. A full list of these databases can be found here.

AVON (Academic Video Online) This link opens in a new window
Find and watch streaming video titles across multiple Alexander Street/Proquest collections on diverse topics and formats that include feature films, newsreels, documentaries, field recordings, interviews and lectures. Producers include Sony Picture Classics, CNN, PBS, BBC Worldwide and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Some individual collections from Alexander Street/Proquest are also listed below, for example, Asian Film Online, Black Studies in Video, Dance in Video, etc.
Docuseek This link opens in a new window
Find and watch streaming video of documentary and social issues films. Includes the Docuseek Complete Collection, Pragda Complete Film Collection, Good Docs, Icarus Films, Women Make Movies, and Collective Eye films.
Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Find and watch streaming video with academic, vocational, and life-skills content
Kanopy This link opens in a new window
Find and view streaming video. Includes thousands of award-winning documentaries, training films and theatrical releases across diverse subjects and disciplines
Projectr This link opens in a new window
Projectr presents a curated and ever-expanding collection of acclaimed movies, archival restorations, award-winning documentaries and artist-made works from around the world. Distributors include Grasshopper Film, Women Make Movies, Distrib Films, MTV Documentary Films, and Canyon Cinema.
Swank Digital Campus This link opens in a new window
Swank Motion Pictures provides online streaming access via their Digital Campus platform to movies from major motion picture studios. Titles are available for online streaming when requested by an instructor for use in a course and are available to Duke users for a limited time specified in the database.

Search tips: finding films in the online catalog

Search for films here. You can also start your search from the Libraries' homepage and choose the Catalog tab or opt for an Advanced search. Limit to Format: Videos and DVDs then hit the Search button. If you would like to browse the collection, Lilly's homepage displays recently acquired DVDs. So many options!

Here are specific searches strategies:

Keyword search

Choose Keywords from the main drop-down menu and enter words from the title or names or subject terms
Once your results display, Refine Your Search by the Filter "Videos and DVDs"
You can further Refine Your Search to "Video DVD" and/or "online" for streaming video

Title search

Choose Title from the main drop-down menu and enter title
Once your results display, Refine Your Search by the Filter "Videos and DVDs"
You can further Refine Your Search to "Video DVD" and/or "online"

Subject search

Choose Subject Heading from the main drop-down menu and enter subject keywords, for example: “Feature films – France”; “Documentary Films – Brazil”; Comedy Films
Once your results display, Refine Your Search by the Filter "Videos and DVDs"
You can further Refine Your Search to "Video DVD" and/or "online"

Director/Actor search (hint: anyone associated with a film production is considered to be an Author)

Choose Author from the main drop-down menu and enter name of director/actor/writer/cinematographer, etc.
Once your results display, Refine Your Search by the Filter "Videos and DVDs"
You can further Refine Your Search to "Video DVD" and/or "Video cassette"
Make sure to check the Location of your results, e.g. Lilly or Library Service Center or Ford*

General search tips

The date listed in the online catalog is when the dvd/videocassette was produced, not when the film was originally released
If you don't find a film by title, try an author search by director; often titles in non-Western languages will be creatively transliterated
You're searching the catalog record and any summary/description or table of contents that might be included--but nothing beyond our library-produced metadata