Library of Congress: talks and concerts
1–48 of 8,304 films, free to watch, from the world's open archives.
Where these films come from, and who sees what
Every film here plays from the archive that keeps it: the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons, the NASA Image and Video Library, the Library of Congress and Open Images (the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision). Nothing is copied to this site. Each film's page names its archive, links to its page there, and states its licence or status as the archive does.
Archive films carry no age ratings, so each is placed from the collections it sits in and the subjects the archive gives it, cautiously. Sexual content and nudity are left out altogether.
| Little Ones | Films for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool. |
|---|---|
| Kids | Cartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature. |
| Tweens | Documentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures. |
| Teens | Everything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower. |
| Adult | Sexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage. |
Library of Congress
Lakou Mizik: Nou tout se moun (Pran Ka Mwen)
Multigenerational 8-member group Lakou Mizik from Haiti, performing the song “Nou tout se moun” (called “Pran Ka Mwen” on Lakou Mizik’s first album Wa Di Yo)…
Library of Congress
The Snarky Sisterz: Life is Like That (You’ve Got to Cry a Little)
The Snarky Sisterz (Diana Quinn and Lisa Ann Wright) from Washington, D.C., performing the song “Life is Like That” from a recording of William Lee Conley…
Library of Congress
Doug McLeod: Catfish Blues
Memphis-based singer-songwriter Doug McLeod performing the song “Catfish Blues” from a recording of Honeyboy Edwards at the Archive of Folk Song 50th…
Library of Congress
Cary Morin: Sitting on Top of the World
Crow tribal member Cary Morin from northern Colorado performing the song “Sitting on Top of the World” from a field recording of fiddler Wayne Perry made by…
Library of Congress
Walter Parks: The Coming Home Holler
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Walter Parks performing a song he calls “The Coming Home Holler” adapted from a field recording of Tom Chesser called…
Library of Congress
Windborne: Hard Times
New England vocal quartet Windborne, performing the song “Hard Times” from a recording of Lillie Steele made in Hamilton, Ohio in 1938. Alan Lomax Ohio and…
Library of Congress
Jay Ungar and Molly Mason: Midnight on the Water / Bonaparte’s Retreat
Jay Ungar and Molly Mason performing the tune “Bonaparte’s Retreat” from a field recording of fiddler W.M. Stepp in Salyersville, Kentucky in 1937…
Library of Congress
Lone Piñon: Entrega de Novios
Jordan Wax and Tanya Nuñez of Lone Piñon performing the song “Entrega de Novios” from a field recording of Amado Trujillo, Adelaido Chavez, and Adolfo Chavez…
Library of Congress
SaulPaul: Amazing Grace
Texas-born rapper and singer-songwriter SaulPaul performing the song “Amazing Grace” from a recording of Lead Belly made at the Library of Congress in…
Library of Congress
Joe Jencks: Take This Hammer
Chicago singer-songwriter Joe Jencks performing the song “Take This Hammer” from a recording of Willie Howard, Paul Perkins, Allen Reid, John Brown, and Lonni…
Library of Congress
Crys Matthews: How I Long for Peace
Singer-songwriter Crys Matthews from northern Virginia singing Peggy Seeger’s original song “How I Long for Peace” from a performance of Peggy Seeger with the…
Library of Congress
Tim Easton: Spike Driver/John Henry (Spike Driver’s Blues)
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tim Easton performing the song “Spike Driver/John Henry (Spike Driver’s Blues)” from a recording of Mississippi John Hurt…
Library of Congress
Changüí Majadero: El Sacrificio
Los Angeles Afro-Cuban roots music group Changüí Majadero performing the song “El Sacrificio” from a recording of Sesteto Encanto at Key West, Florida in…
Library of Congress
Hat Fitz and Cara: Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning
Belfast-born singer and drummer Cara Robinson with Australian blues singer and guitarist Hat Fitz performing “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” from a…
Library of Congress
Muddy Gurdy: Another Man Done Gone
Tia Gouttebel, Gilles Chabenat, and Marc Glomeau of French trio Muddy Gurdy performing the song “Another Man Done Gone” from a field recording of Vera Hall…
Library of Congress
Conversation with Dom Flemons, The American Songster
This video features an interview with Dom Flemons, recorded in September 2020 for the Homegrown Concert and Interview Series. A Grammy award winner, two-time…
Library of Congress
Dom Flemons: “Old Corn Liquor”
“Old Corn Liquor,” performed by Dom Flemons, “The American Songster.” A Grammy award winner, two-time Emmy nominee and 2019 Wammie Award winner, Dom Flemons…
Library of Congress
Dom Flemons: “Charming Betsy”
“Charming Betsy,” performed by Dom Flemons, “The American Songster.” A Grammy award winner, two-time Emmy nominee and 2019 Wammie Award winner, Dom Flemons is…
Library of Congress
Cosmovisions Among Us: Kotiria (Part 1)
A conversation between Natali Palacios and anthropologist Janet Chernela about Chernela’s 50-year career working with the Kotiria community, formerly known as…
Library of Congress
Cosmovisions Among Us: Kotiria (Part 3)
A conversation between the Library’s Henry Widener and Natali Palacios and Janet Chernela, professor of Anthropology at the University of Maryland. The…
Library of Congress
Cosmovisions Among Us: Kotiria (Part 2)
A conversation between the Libary’s Henry Widener, anthropologist Janet Chernela, and Miguel and Carolaine Cabral, two members of the Kotiria community,…
Library of Congress
Conversation with Frederic and Molly Kellogg
Law Librarian of Congress Aslihan Bulut interviewed Frederic and Molly Kellogg about their thoughts on the importance of studying jurisprudence and what led…
Library of Congress
Conversation with the Goldmund Quartet and Philip Kass
Members of the Goldmund Quartet speak with the Library’s Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford and guest Philip Kass, a respected expert, appraiser, consultant and writer…
Library of Congress
Subject Indexing for Pictures: The Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Antoinette O’Bryant and Libby McKiernan discuss subject indexing using the Library Congress Thesaurus for Graphic Materials. You will learn how to describe…
Library of Congress
Conversation with Charly Lowry
Singer-songwriter Charly Lowry speaks with Stephen Winick and Megan Nicholas from the American Folklife Center. An Indigenous woman from Pembroke, North…
Library of Congress
Researching Women and Gender at the Library
Reference librarian Meg Metcalf (they/them) discusses women’s, gender and LGBTQ+ studies collections and research at the Library of Congress. The presentation…
Library of Congress
Conversation with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Crispin Woodhead, CEO of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and oboist Daniel Bates join David Plylar for a discussion about the orchestra’s program…
Library of Congress
Monica Mancini and Gregg Field on Henry Mancini at 100
Singer Monica Mancini and Grammy-winning producer and drummer Gregg Field discussed the music and legacy of composer Henry Mancini (1924-1994) with the…
Library of Congress
Legal and Citizenship Status of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan
An overview and history of the legal and policy framework concerning the treatment and rights of Afghan refugees/migrants in Pakistan. The session also delves…
Library of Congress
Conversation with Seth Parker Woods
Cellist Seth Parker Woods speaks with the Library’s Anne McLean about his concert at the Library. The program spans three centuries of music, from Bach to…
Library of Congress
Remarks on ‘Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes’
Filmmakers Sam Pollard and Ben Shapiro discuss their award-winning documentary “Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes,” part of PBS’ American Masters series and a…
Library of Congress
Puzzle Pieces of Longevity Science
Longevity has turned into a buzzword of late. There are many very wealthy people who tout their ability to defy age by following rigid health regimes that are…
Library of Congress
2024 Supreme Court Fellows Program Annual Lecture with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan
The Law Library of Congress and the Supreme Court Fellows Program presents a conversation with Associate Justice Elena Kagan.
Library of Congress
A Valentine’s Date with Rebecca Ross
Do you love a good epistolary novel, an enemies-to-lovers story, or a realistic portrayal of journalists who report from the war front? young-adult author…
Library of Congress
Ralph Ellison: Photographer
This webinar celebrates Ralph Ellison’s creativity and observation of African American life through discussion of Michal Raz-Russo and John F. Callahan’s…
Library of Congress
Rhapsody in Blue at 100 with Simone Dinnerstein and the US Air Force Band
On February 12, 1924, George Gershwin appeared at the piano with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra for the premiere of his freshly-minted “Rhapsody in Blue.” The…
Library of Congress
Rhapsody in Blue at 100: Ryan Raul Bañagale
Scholar Ryan Raul Bañagale offered a lecture on the occasion of the 100th birthday of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” celebrated at the Library with a…
Library of Congress
Charting New Discoveries of the Manuscript Map of the Dagua River Region
The Manuscript Map of the Dagua River Region, created in 1764, depicts a remote gold mining frontier in today’s Colombia. Art historian Juliet Wiersema and…
Library of Congress
Major Jackson with Ron Charles
Major Jackson, the prizewinning author of “Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems” and host of “The Slowdown,” talks with Washington Post book critic Ron Charles…
Library of Congress
Rev. Robert B. Jones Sr. Concert
Rev. Robert B. Jones Sr. is an inspirational musician and storyteller celebrating the history, humor and power of American roots music. His deep love for…
Library of Congress
Conversation with Rev. Robert B. Jones Sr.
Rev. Robert B. Jones Sr. speaks with Stephen Winick of the American Folklife Center. Jones is an inspirational musician and storyteller celebrating the…
Library of Congress
The Azevedo Collection: Musical and Cultural Exchange Between Brazil and the U.S.
Luiz Heitor Corrêa de Azevedo was a Brazilian musicologist/ethnomusicologist/folklorist who collaborated with U.S. scholars, producing field recordings of…
Library of Congress
Black Film Archive: Tenderness in Black Film
Maya Cade is the creator and curator of Black Film Archive, a living register of Black films from 1915 to 1979, and explored the place of tenderness in…
Library of Congress
Highlights from the Robert H. McNeill Family Collection
Archivist Leah Rios and photography curator Kate Fogle highlight the career of African American photographer Robert H. McNeill (1917-2005), who documented…
Library of Congress
Kerri Greenidge on the Grimkes Family
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden talks with historian Kerri Greenidge about her new book, “The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family.” The…
Library of Congress
Fighting Terrorism Through Laws: How Egyptian Courts Apply Laws on Combating Terrorism
The webinar discusses the definition of terrorism under the 1994 UN Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism and Security Council…
Library of Congress
Cosmovisions Among Us: Mẽbêngôkre-Kayapó (Part 2)
A conversation between the Library’s Henry Widener and Cacique Kakêt Bepuneiti Kayapó, Pat-i Kayapó and Airyti Kayapó of the Mẽbêngôkre-Kayapó Indigenous…
Library of Congress
Elias Alexander: Always Been a Rambler
Oregon producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Elias Alexander performing the song “Always Been a Rambler” from a field recording of unaccompanied…