Featuring The Public
Celebrate Ontario Public Library Week with us! This month we feature a thought-provoking library drama featuring an all-star ensemble cast.
All movies are shown in Centennial Hall. Bring a friend or come by yourself for an enjoyable afternoon watching a great film on the big screen. No need to register, but please plan to arrive 15 minutes before showtime.
An unusually bitter Arctic blast has made its way to downtown Cincinnati and the front doors of the public library is where the action of the film takes place. The story revolves around the library patrons, many of whom are homeless, mentally ill, and marginalized, as well as an exhausted and overwhelmed staff of librarians who often build emotional connections and a sense of obligation to care for those regular patrons. At odds with library officials over how to handle the extreme weather event, the patrons turn the building into a homeless shelter for the night by staging an "Occupy" sit in. What begins as an act of civil disobedience becomes a stand off with police and a rush-to-judgment media constantly speculating about what's really happening. This David versus Goliath story tackles some of America's most challenging issues, homelessness, and mental illness and sets the drama inside one of the last bastions of democracy-in-action: your public library.
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Taylor Schilling, Emilio Estevez, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, Jacob Vargas, Gabrielle Union
(2018, 122 min, 14A)
This year, Ontario Public Library Week, October 20 to 24, is all about "Libraries for Life." OPLW, as a part of Canadian Library Month, is an annual commemoration to raise awareness of the valuable role libraries play in the lives of people in Ontario.
If you need an accessibility accommodation during this program, please contact us a few days before your visit at inclusion@bpl.on.ca or 905.639.3611 extension 1211.
Central Library is the largest location and houses historical and special collections, a computer lab, meeting rooms for public rental, and departments responsible for system-wide library services support. Burlington Public Library is a tax-supported registered charitable organization.