Director
Kim A. Snyder
Music (original)
Nico Muhly
Cast
Suzette Baker, Becky Calzada, Carolyn Foote
Edition 2025
88'
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2025
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Documentary, Literature
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Format:
DCP
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Dialogue:
English
Conservative America's culture war against diversity is also being waged in school libraries. The documentary The Librarians, which premiered at Sundance, brings (former) library staff and supporters out of the shadows and in front of the camera in their united fight against book bans. A hallucinatory portrait of a modern witch-hunt that can also be read as a warning.
In 2021, Texas congressman Matt Krause circulated a list of 850 books he claimed were harmful to young readers. The list turned out to focus largely on queer themes and issues of race. Shortly afterward, the governor of Texas demanded the immediate removal of all such books from school libraries—and other states soon followed. The eye-opening documentary The Librarians shows how librarians and allies became targets of conservative America in a witch-hunt that draws chilling parallels. Committed documentarian Kim A. Snyder (of the Oscar-nominated Death by Numbers) honours the heroes who dare to speak out in the fight against book banning—and even book burning. Through archival footage and new testimony, she exposes how censorship has become part of a broader political campaign to take control of school boards. Are librarians the last line of defense in a terrifying culture war?
Image gallery
Credits
Directors
Kim A. Snyder
Music (original)
Nico Muhly
Sound Designer
Ron Bochar
Cast
Suzette Baker, Becky Calzada, Carolyn Foote
Director of Photography
Amy Bench, Paulius Kontijevas, Derek Wiesehahn
Editors
Leah Boatright, Austin Reedy, María Gabriela Torres
Producers
Maria Cuomo Cole, Jana Edelbaum, Janique L. Robillard, Kim A. Snyder
Sales agent
Dogwoof, Dogwoof
Production studios
KA Snyder Productions, Cuomo Cole Productions, Ideal Partners
More info
Dialogue
English
Countries of production
United States of America
Year
2025
Filmography
Kim A. Snyder
I Remember Me (2000), One Bridge to the Next (short, 2008), Crossing Midnight (short, 2009), Welcome to Shelbyville (2009), Duke Riley Goes to China (short, 2015), Newtown (2016), Notes from Dunblane: Lesson from a School Shooting (short, 2018), The Last Mile (short, 2019), Us Kids (2020), Death by Numbers (short, 2024), The Librarians (2025)
Technical Specs
Format
DCP
