The Librarians: Warriors in the War for Words
Kim A. Snyder's The Librarians arrives at Sundance with the force of an urgent warning and the heart of a resistance anthem. Following librarians across Texas, Florida, and beyond as they combat an unprecedented wave of book bans, this documentary transforms the seemingly quiet world of libraries into the frontlines of a battle for American democracy. It's the most important film about education – and the most infuriating – you'll see this year.
Snyder, whose previous work includes the devastating Newtown, brings that same unflinching gaze to what amounts to a coordinated assault on intellectual freedom. The film opens with a quote from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 – "It was a pleasure to see things burn" – and proceeds to show us a very real version of that dystopia. The Krause List, targeting 850 books focused on race and LGBTQ+ stories, becomes the blueprint for censorship efforts nationwide, orchestrated by groups like Moms for Liberty with surgical precision.
But The Librarians is far from a despairing polemic. Instead, it's a celebration of ordinary heroes who refuse to go quietly. Amanda Jones, the Louisiana school librarian who wrote "That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America," emerges as the film's moral center – eloquent, defiant, and utterly committed to her students' right to see themselves in literature. When she's labeled a pedophile for defending LGBTQ+ titles, her response isn't anger but steely determination: "I couldn't remove a book because it has ideas we don't like."
Snyder's camera finds power in specificity. We see Martha Hickson in New Jersey following the money trail behind seemingly grassroots censorship efforts. We witness Julie Miller in Florida partnering with Reverend Jeffrey Dove to defend diverse stories. The film excels at connecting local battles to a broader ideological war, making clear that this isn't random moral panic but systematic strategy.
The emotional peak comes through the Granbury Banned Book Club, where Texas high schoolers organize to defend the very books being pulled from their shelves. Their courage – reading banned titles aloud, questioning authority, insisting on their right to access information – provides the film's most hopeful moments. These teenagers understand what their censorious elders refuse to acknowledge: that books save lives, and silencing them is an act of violence.
Executive produced by Sarah Jessica Parker, The Librarians stands as both documentation and call to action. In showing us librarians as first responders in the fight for democracy, Snyder has created essential viewing for anyone who believes in the radical idea that all stories deserve to be told.