Library Stories: Books on the Backroads

Old New Mexico

1940

This Traveltalk series short takes viewers on a tour of old New Mexico. Starting in Santa Fe, the oldest state capitol in the USA, the city existed long before European migration. It's unique architecture is its most prominent feature. There are several archaeological sites trying to date when Indians first settled in the area. Seven percent of the population are of Indian origin. Near Taos is the onetime home of Kit Carson whose grave is one of the sacred shrines of New Mexico. The Navajo live on their 14 million acre reservation and continue their traditional way of life.

And Those Who Dance it Surrender Their Hearts to Each Other

2017

And Those Who Dance it Surrender Their Hearts to Each Other is a portrait of Lone Piñon, a Northern New Mexican string band celebrating their region’s cultural roots. With fiddles, upright bass, accordions, vihuela, mandolin, guitars, jarana huasteca, and vocals in Spanish, English, Nahuatl and P’urepecha, they play a wide spectrum of the traditional music that is at home in New Mexico. The musicians have learned from elder musicians (such as Antonia Apodaca) who instilled in them a respect for continuity of the community based social and dance music. Noah Martinez, Jordan Wax, Leticia Gonzales and Greg Glassman have brought the language of New Mexico traditional music and related regional traditions back onto the modern stage, back onto dance floors, and back into the ears of a young generation.

Flying Padre

1951

Stanley Kubrick’s short documentary about Father Fred Stadtmueller, a Catholic priest serving a vast 4,000-square-mile parish in rural New Mexico. To reach his scattered congregation, he pilots his own Piper Cub aircraft, the Spirit of St. Joseph. Over two days, Kubrick follows the “flying padre” as he conducts Mass, mediates between quarreling children, attends a funeral, and airlifts a sick child to medical care—capturing both the challenges and quiet heroism of his daily mission.

The Mystery of Chaco Canyon

1999

Chaco Canyon, located in northwest New Mexico, is perhaps the only site in the world constructed in an elaborate pattern that mirrors the yearly cycle of the sun and the 19-year cycle of the moon. How did an ancient civilization, with no known written language, arrange its buildings into a virtual celestial calendar, spanning an area roughly the size of Ireland?

The Boy Who Found Gold

2016

William Hart McNichols is a world renowned artist, heralded by Time magazine as "among the most famous creators of Christian iconic images in the world". As a young Catholic priest from 1983-1990 he was immersed in a life-altering journey working as a chaplain at St. Vincent's AIDS hospice in New York city. It was during this time that he became an early pioneer for LGBT rights within the Catholic church. "The Boy Who Found Gold" is a cinematic journey into the art and spirit of William Hart McNichols. The film follows his colorful life as he crosses paths with presidents, popes, martyrs, and parishioners, finding an insightful lesson with each encounter. McNichols' message as a priest, artist and man speaks to the most powerful element of the human spirit: Mercy.

Nasario Remembers the Rio Puerco

2017

Acclaimed folklorist Nasario Garcia wanders through landscape and memory amid the ghosts towns of New Mexico's Rio Puerco valley, reviving recuerdos tales of his youth when the ranching villages thrived and viejitos elders told stories beside a river that once ran.

Phantoms of the Sierra Madre

2024

A Danish writer travels to Mexico with the purpose of locating a mysterious Apache tribe that fervently seeks to remain in obscurity.

Murder in Monaco

2025

Monaco, 1999. One of the world's richest men dies in his penthouse. This documentary unpacks the mysterious murder of billionaire banker, Edmond Safra.

Hacking at Leaves

2024

Hacking at Leaves documents artist and hazmat-suit aficionado Johannes Grenzfurthner as he attempts to come to terms with the United States' colonial past, Navajo tribal history, and the hacker movement. The story hones in on a small tinker space in Durango, Colorado, that made significant contributions to worldwide COVID relief efforts. But things go awry when Uncle Sam interferes with the film's production.

The Peoples Palace: Secrets of the New York Public Library

1992

A documentary about the New York Public Library, including the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts and the Schomberg Center in Harlem.

Way Out There

KNME presents Jim Morley as the storyteller in Way Out There. This program is a story of the changing face of the American West videotaped around Magdalena and west-central New Mexico.

The American Dreamer

1971

A documentary about actor/director Dennis Hopper, showing him at his home and studio putting together his film "The Last Movie."