Thanksgiving Films 
A selection of movies celebrating, poking fun and analyzing America's holiday available through NewEnglandFilm's sister site, BuyIndies.com.

By Michele Meek

\ A still from "Pilgrims at Plymouth."

Kids Favorites

Miss Nelson Has a Field Day
In this ALA Notable Video, nothing seems to help the hapless football team at the Horace B. Smedley School. Everyone is down in the dumps... until the arrival of the notorious Viola Swamp who takes it upon herself to whip the team into shape for the big Thanksgiving Day game. 

Fall Holiday Stories
A collection of stories including "Thanksgiving" about a young turkey who runs away after hearing that turkeys are eaten for dinner. His adventures teach him that he can't be anything other than a turkey.

Cranberry Thanksgiving
Grandmother almost loses her secret recipe for Cranberry bread to one of her Thanksgiving dinner guests.

One Terrific Thanksgiving
Irving Morris Bear asks friends to hide his tempting Thanksgiving food so he can’t eat it before the feast begins. He learns there’s more to Thanksgiving than just turkey and stuffing.

Thanksgiving Stories
Includes "Grandmother White Loon Feather's Thanksgiving," "A Pilgrim First," "Thanksgiving," and "King of the Greedy."

Classroom Specials

Giving Thanks
Known as the Thanksgiving Address, this Native American good morning message is based on the belief that the natural world is a precious and rare gift - from the moon and the stars to the tiniest blade of grass. Narrated by Chief Jake Swamp in English and in the Mohawk language.

Pilgrims At Plymouth
In this finalist from the Birmingham International Educational Film Festival, viewers will participate in the Pilgrims' first winter, the building of their houses, and the planting of their crops. 

Columbus Didn't Discover Us
This documentary is a moving testimony about the impact of the Columbus legacy on the lives of indigenous peoples from across the hemisphere. Native people speak about the devastation of their cultures resulting from the “European invasion,” contemporary struggles over land and human rights, the importance of reviving spiritual traditions, and the need to alert the world to the environmental crises threatening the survival of the planet.

The First Thanksgiving
Produced at Plimoth Plantation, this program uses authentic costumes, language, and buildings to re-create that day the Pilgrims and Native Americans offered thanks for their harvest. You will find this program appropriate for use in social studies units as well as during the Thanksgiving holiday

Sing Sing Thanksgiving
A historic, 1971 Thanksgiving day concert at the Ossining Correctional Facility is captured in this film. Joan Baez, B.B. King, The Voices of East Harlem and Jimmy Walker perform in one of the few large-scale entertainment programs ever brought to the maximum security prison.

Adult Classics & Cult Favorites

The Myth of Fingerprints
An ensemble cast featuring Blythe Danner, James LeGros, Julianne Moore, Roy Scheider and Noah Wyle stars in Bart Freundlich's debut film, in which a family, separated for three years, shares a secret at Thanksgiving in New England. "A fascinating portrait of modern American gothic angst" (Bruce Williamson, Playboy).

Family Tree on Shorts! Volume 2
This short film by Vicky Jensen follows a guy on Thanksgiving facing bickering in-laws that all seem to need their conflicts more than they need each other. 

Hoboken Chicken Controversy
When the Bobowicz family asked their son Arthur to pick up a turkey for Thanksgiving, they weren't expecting him to bring home a 266-pound live chicken named Henrietta. Neither was Hoboken, in this wild comedy from the multiple Emmy-award-winning production team.

For other films on all subjects, visit www.buyindies.com.

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