The Ives branch of the New Haven Free Public Library, 133 Elm St., will show two films on Thursday, March 17. One is one of the most famous movies ever made about Ireland, and the other is a documentary about a little-known chapter in the history of Ireland.
The documentary “Frederick Douglass and the White Negro” will open the program at 2 p.m. John Doherty’s 2008 film tells the story of the escaped slave, who took refuge in Ireland, where he witnessed the Great Famine firsthand.
It will be followed at 3 p.m. by “The Quiet Man,” the 1952 drama in which John Wayne moves to Ireland and falls in love with Maureen O’Hara.
Also showing at the Ives branch this week is “Iraqi Odyssey.” The 2014 documentary by Samir traces his own family’s emigrations over the course of 50 years, and offers commentary about how hopes for democracy have been thwarted by colonialism, dictatorship, war and foreign occupation. It will be shown Saturday, March 19, at 1 p.m. It is in Arabic with subtitles. Admission to all films is free.
