April 19, 2019
Stepping Up for Homeless Black People in Oakland
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Pendarvis Harshaw The Independent Lens documentary Charm City brings to mind the long list of urban American cities that fall into the same category as the Baltimore seen in…...
April 17, 2019
Filmmaker Spotlights Unsung Neighbors Lifting Up Baltimore
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Marilyn Ness is a two-time Emmy, Peabody, and DuPont Award-winning filmmaker, who has produced films like the acclaimed Cameraperson (dir. Kirsten Johnson), which was released by the Criterion Collection and…...
April 16, 2019
Independent Lens Wins Two 2018 Peabody Awards
Craig Phillips in Announcements
Independent Lens is proud to announce that two of the series' films —Dolores and The Judge — have won 2018 Peabody Awards in the Documentary category. The oldest and most prestigious award for…...
April 16, 2019
What “The Wire” Got Right, and Wrong, About Baltimore (and How “Charm City” Fills in the Rest)
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Lee Gardner Baltimoreans who venture beyond the I-695 beltway always know it’s coming. We meet someone from another city, or another country. They find out we’re from Baltimore, and…...
April 12, 2019
Acclaimed Filmmaker David Sutherland Tells the Story of a Family Torn Apart by Deportation
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
David Sutherland takes his time to tell a story, both in the years he spends with his subject, the amount of footage he shoots, and the ultimate running time --…...
April 11, 2019
An Update from Elizabeth Perez
Independent Lens in Where Are They Now?
Note: Elizabeth Perez, star of David Sutherland's film Marcos Doesn't Live Here Anymore (a co-presentation of Independent Lens, FRONTLINE, and Voces), wrote us a heartfelt update about how she, her…...
April 04, 2019
New Efforts to Improve Rural Healthcare Crisis
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Suzanne Gordon The three caregivers we meet in The Providers face daunting challenges as they try to deliver medical and mental healthcare to patients in rural New Mexico. Sadly,…...
April 01, 2019
A Day in the Life of a Rural Doctor, When No Day is the Same
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
Leslie Hayes knew she wanted to become a doctor from a very young age. She was raised in Los Alamos, New Mexico, a community that hosts a national nuclear laboratory…...
March 27, 2019
How a Lifelong Fascination with Medicine Turned into a Film About the Rural Healthcare Crisis
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
[UPDATED April 6, 2019: We reached out to filmmakers Laura Green and Anna Moot-Levin to gather their thoughts on why they titled their film The Providers.] The filmmaking team behind the…...
March 25, 2019
How to Pronounce (and Not Pronounce) “Tre Maison Dasan”
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
One of the three "stars" of the documentary Tre Maison Dasan, Maison is a funny, charming, hyper-articulate 11-year-old whose Autism Spectrum Disorder presents itself through his ever-active mind and deep love for…...
March 25, 2019
Children Own Their Stories in Tre Maison Dasan
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
Denali Tiller has been an artist, a teacher, a world traveler, and was named one of 110 “Filmmakers to Watch” by Variety, but Tre Maison Dasan happens to be her…...
February 20, 2019
Director Explores Live Streaming Revolution and How Technology Affects Human Happiness
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
Technology executive-turned-filmmaker Hao Wu takes a raw and human approach to storytelling in an era when culture evolves online, and for his very first feature film, People's Republic of Desire…...