Daytime Docs Film Series - Little Dieter Needs to Fly

In honor of Veteran’s Day, we are screening Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) by legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog. In 1966, Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, captured, imprisoned and then, down to 85 pounds, he escaped. Barefoot, surviving monsoons, leeches, and machete-wielding villagers, he was rescued. Dengler tells his story of growing up in Germany and surviving Allied bombings in World War II, postwar poverty, of being apprenticed to a blacksmith who beat him, of emigrating to the U.S., going to college, and joining the U.S. Air Force so that he could learn to fly. A quiet man of sorrows tells his story: war, capture, harrowing conditions, escape, and miraculous rescue. Where did he find the strength; how does he now live with his memories?

We'll discuss these questions and more after the screening.  Then you can browse our documentary collection in Sights & Sounds and take home a few films until our next screening!  

Daytime Docs is a monthly film series featuring documentaries that bring awareness to diverse perspectives and life experiences through the power of visual storytelling. Screenings take place every third Sunday of the month in the Library's meeting room.