Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

AV in the Church Field by William S. Hockman Lit-Lit Filmstrip What does Lit-Lit mean? It is the shorthand for The Committee on World Literacy and Christian Literature of the National Council of Churches, 475 Riverside Dr., N.Y. 27. This great organization has produced fine filmstrip to tell the story of literacy to children. They call it "LitLit Makes Wishes Come True, and in good color photography and a nicely composed printed commentary, it shows lively children in all parts of the world and talks about their need to be taught to read and what being able to read really means. Commendable job! Script by Elizabeth Allstrom and the photos by Floyd Shacklock, Leon Kofod and Marion \'an Home. The script is followed by a section of suggestions to guide the user in getting the most from this filmstrip. There are 52 frames, and the utilization time can vary from L5 to 30 minutes, depending upon the teaching techniques employed. Available with this filmstrip is a .splendid packet of materials on world literacy and literature. Send $.5.00 for the fs and add 50c for the Children's Packet. A good buy for your AV library. Jews In U.S.S.R. The Department of Audio-Visual Aids of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) has just released two more titles in its "Jews In Distant Lands" series: The Soviet Union, Part 1 and Part II. Each has 50-odd frames of excellent color photographs and informative printed commentary which forms but a part of a very useful guide for the user. Part I shows ghmpses of Jewish life in Moscow and Leningrad and Part II takes us to Kiev and Tashkent. In each of these sequences there are a number of scenes of general interest. These serve as excellent context for pictures of Jewish people and their synagogues. With rare exceptions these scenes show only old (Jewish) people. No schools or organizations for Jewish youth under 18 are permitted by the Soviet government, and this rule is vigorously enforced. Everything must center in synagogue worship and there are no clubs for men and women as in the U.S.A. I found these two filmstrips interesting. They filled a gap in my information about the life of a minority group on the USSR. They might do the same for you. I recommend them for use with young people and adults in church and synagogue. They should stimulate sober thinking, further investigation, and deep gratitude for the blessed freedom we have in our land to worship and to teach. From UAHC (838 Fifth Ave, N.Y. 21) at $7.50 each. Documentary Epistle From The Koreans is a 35minute b&w film produced by the Department of Stewardship and Promotion (DSP) of the United Presbyterian Church in the USA, 475 Riverside Dr., N.Y. 27. It is widely available to UP churches through presbytery and synod offices and from DSP. In moving scenes it tells the story, via the documentary method, of the young Korean student, In Ho Oh, who was brutally murdered in the spring of 1958 in Philadelphia and of the letter from the parents to the city asking that it deal leniently with the murderers and offering funds for their rehabilitation thru education. In the film we have the whole story, with a little too much realism here and there— the minder scene, for instance. We doubt if pictured brutality can edify. Knowing what to include and leave out is the essence of the art of the documentary film, and this art takes the measure of all who would use it, from client right on through producer and director. All this material could have been compressed, it seems to this reviewer, into a 28-minute film to considerable cinematic and utilization advantage. Despite the above comments it is a useful film for general congregational use and for use with young people. The utilization guide, excellent in every respect, was written by the Rev. Arthur M. Byers, Jr., who acted as executive producer. It can help any user to a fruitful presentation of the film. They Did, Indeed Adapted from the book by the same title, the film They Looked for A City tells the incredible but true story of a Jewish-Christian family in Eastern Europe and its bitter struggle to survive and find a place of refuge. From death under the sabres of Russian Cossacks to death under the London blitz, we follow via excellent photoggraphy and a fine story telling the fortimes, calamities, triumphs and trials of a remarkable family whose faith in the God of Abraham and Christ never weakened. Excellent feature-type film for church groups, especially on Sunday nights. It has 45 minutes running time, leaving within the hour time to give it a context of scripture, hymns and prayer. Mrs. Victor Buksbazen, author of the book, and her husband, with the help of a good professional cast, have produced a fine and useful film. From Friends of Israel Missionary and Relief Society, 330 Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia 7, Pa. Rental $25.00. Planned Families If culture is the coefficient of the human cortex, then planned families ought to make a lot of cerebral sense. But such is not always the ca.se, as we see in the I4'/i minute film Fair Chance, It is the story of two fathers. They meet in the corridor of the maternity wing of a hospital. One is calm; his daughter was planned for and has just arrived. The other is in panic, delayed labor, young children at home, bills. The calm one invites the other to have a cup of coffee and learn how, with the proper help, families can be planned. Of course, all the information in the film is about the need for planning for children through the securing and use of medical knowledge. Good film for that purpose. Board spectrum of usefulness: churches, schools, social and welfare agencies, colleges, etc. Color or b&w; available from Pathenon Films, 2625 Temple St., Los Angeles 26, Cal. Produced by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Now, Really! Quite a 'famiK' of films have been produced on the general subject of Prejudice. Some show what it is; others miss the mark. Some try to go clever and flop. Some try the arty tack and take a tumble from effectiveness. Ueritap,e, ( 10-min; b&w, and from McGraw Hill, 330 W. 42nd St., N.Y. 36) is one of this family. It is clever cartooning. It tries to define the Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide — Septe.mber, 1960 497