March 16, 2017
Principal Vonda Viland and 10 of the Most Unforgettable “Bad Kids”
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
The following is by Vonda Viland, principal of Black Rock Continuation High School in Yucca Valley in California's Mojave Desert, and subject of the documentary The Bad Kids. Viland's tireless work to…...
March 09, 2017
Meet the Trailblazers of Documentary Activism
Sean Axmaker in Film History
We think of the cinema of activism in documentary filmmaking as a relatively modern phenomenon, something first awakened in the 1960s and 1970s and popularized by the likes of Michael…...
February 14, 2017
10 Great Animated Documentaries
Noel Murray in Lists
Keith Maitland’s animated documentary TOWER has left critics and awards-voting bodies alike flummoxed as to how best to categorize it. This is a visionary work, no doubt, that uses voice-actors and…...
February 14, 2017
History or Hate: America’s Controversial Monuments to White Supremacy
826chi in Lists
The thing about claiming territory and property is that it takes up space, and taking up space literally makes a huge statement; it becomes a platform for discussing who built…...
February 13, 2017
TOWER Playlist: 1966 Music Soundscape
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
Pure and simple, 1966 was considered by many critics as one of the greatest years for popular music ever [see the Guardian’s “Was 1966 pop music greatest’s year?” and the…...
February 13, 2017
Keith Maitland Goes Back to 1966 to Tell Story of Victims and Heroes of Texas Shooting
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Keith Maitland's previous film The Eyes of Me, the moving story of a group of blind teenagers making their way in Austin, aired on Independent Lens and was nominated for an…...
February 11, 2017
Paying Homage to UT Tower Mass Shooting Victims with Life Affirming Animation
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
Craig Staggs is the lead animator for the little animation studio based in Austin, Texas, also the home base of filmmaker Keith Maitland. Staggs' company did the brilliantly layered animation…...
February 10, 2017
Reformed Racists: Is There Life After Hate for Former White Supremacists?
Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films
Accidental Courtesy portrays African American musician Daryl Davis's attempt to change white supremacists by gradually shattering their prejudices with his friendship. It's a complicated, risky, and controversial pursuit, but Davis has succeeded in…...
February 09, 2017
Filmmaker Matt Ornstein Captures Daryl Davis’s Quest to Confront Racism, One Racist at a Time
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Filmmaker Matt Ornstein has a background in music videos and short films (one of which, Atlantis, was about that space shuttle's last launch and starred Jason Ritter), but the story…...
February 02, 2017
Filmmakers Tell Story of William Trotter’s Fight Against Racist Silent Blockbuster
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Birth of a Movement, based on Dick Lehr's book, captures the backdrop to a prescient clash between human rights, freedom of speech, and a changing media landscape — that happened in 1915.…...
February 01, 2017
The Offspring of Birth of a Nation
Sean Axmaker in Film History
D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation is inarguably one of the landmarks of American cinema. The distillation of the storytelling techniques, editing ideas, framing and visual composition, and nuanced…...
February 01, 2017
Accidental Courtesy – A Collection of Robes – Clip
Independent Lens in
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