The popular on-demand film streaming service Kanopy is now available for free through the 21 public libraries in Ulster County.
Library card holders can access Kanopy and sign up to start streaming films instantly by visiting their library’s website. Films can be streamed from any computer, television, mobile device or platform by downloading the Kanopy app for iOS, Android, Roku, AppleTV or Chromecast. Patrons will be limited to five movies per month.
Offering what the New York Times calls “a garden of cinematic delights,” Kanopy showcases more than 30,000 of the world’s best films, including award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie and classic films, and world cinema with collections from Umbrella Entertainment, Madman Entertainment, Under the Milky Way, SND Films and thousands of independent filmmakers.
Kanopy is free for users with a library card; all users need to do to get started streaming films is to visit their library’s website. With the motto of “thoughtful entertainment,” Kanopy provides library patrons with access to films of unique social and cultural value; films that are often difficult or impossible to access elsewhere, and programming that features diversity, with a wide array of foreign language films and films on race, and current affairs.
“We have had many patrons asking for Kanopy and are excited to provide this new resource to Ulster County residents,” said Katie Scott-Childress, director of the Saugerties Public Library.
The Ulster County Library Association signed on with Kanopy using funding from the Ulster County Legislature. Library cards are free to all Ulster County residents. The Kanopy collection includes indie hits like Hunt For the Wilderpeople and A Quiet Passion, classic masterpieces like Charade and L’Avventura, and award-winning documentaries like the 2017 Oscar-nominated I Am Not Your Negro and Sundance Film Festival winner 52 Tuesdays. Over 5 million Kanopy users stream the most acclaimed movies and documentaries from awardwinning filmmakers, and experience the best in independent, classic film, and world cinema.
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