January 07, 2016
Independent Lens Announces Winter-Spring 2016 Films
Independent Lens in Announcements
Independent Lens, which recently won the IDA’s Best Curated Series Award for the third consecutive year, announced its 2016 Winter-Spring season lineup today. “These films amplify conversations happening across the…...
January 07, 2016
From the Archive: Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond Talks Motion Picture Making
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
In memory of Vilmos Zsigmond, the legendary cinematographer who died New Years Day, we reached into the Independent Lens archive for an interview Mr. Zsigmond gave us in June 2010…...
January 01, 2016
Ilinca Calugareanu Returns to Her 1980s Romania Roots
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Chuck Norris vs Communism may not literally be the retro action film the title implies, it's a shorthand way of reflecting how this new documentary captures the giddy way Romanians in…...
January 01, 2016
Nine Movies about the Power of Cinema
Noel Murray in Film History
In Ilinca Calugareanu’s documentary Chuck Norris vs. Communism, a handful of Romanians who endured the Cold War reminisce about congregating surreptitiously in cramped apartments to watch American action films on…...
December 26, 2015
A Letter from Jose Ansaldo and an Update from Oscar Ramos [UPDATED]
Craig Phillips in Where Are They Now?
UPDATE (3/26/21): We heard great news about East of Salinas star José Ansaldo that we just had to share. José got accepted to U.C. Berkeley! https://twitter.com/SupervisorAlejo/status/1375297535506481153?s=20 UPDATE (2/7/17): News courtesy of…...
December 26, 2015
Laura Pacheco and Jackie Mow Tell the Story of a Farmworker’s Studious Son
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Not just a filmmaker but a trained anthropologist, Laura Pacheco has traveled the world to tell the stories of people overcoming the odds of their rough circumstances, including for the Emmy…...
December 15, 2015
Cinema Verite: The Movement of Truth
Sean Axmaker in Film History
This piece is part of an ongoing Independent Lens series exploring documentary film history. Check out the previous entry, Silent Real-Life Adventure Films, and stay tuned for more installments. The birth…...
December 10, 2015
Rest in Peace, John Trudell.
Craig Phillips in Announcements
It has not been a happy month for Native American activists. Recently we said goodbye to Robin Poor Bear, and this week, activist/author/musician/poet John Trudell left this earth. Trudell was…...
December 08, 2015
Independent Lens Wins Best Curated Series and Other Honors at 2015 IDA Awards
Craig Phillips in Awards
Independent Lens scored at the 2015 IDA Awards, handed out this weekend in Los Angeles. The prestigious awards are selected by the International Documentary Association every year to honor the year's best…...
December 02, 2015
Blood Brother Update from Rocky Braat: Continuing the Story
Craig Phillips in Where Are They Now?
Since Blood Brother aired on Independent Lens in early 2014, many of the film's fans continue to ask how Rocky Braat and the kids he works with in India are doing.…...
November 24, 2015
Sad News about Robin Poor Bear
Craig Phillips in Announcements
This weekend we received sad news about the subject of the Independent Lens/FRONTLINE film Kind Hearted Woman. Robin Poor Bear, a.k.a. Charboneau, passed away this Friday at home in North Dakota. We…...
November 21, 2015
The Cost of Love: Caring for Adults with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities
Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films
Did you know that November is National Family Caregiver Month? (Here are some suggested ways of thanking the caregivers in your life.) The care of aging adults is a problem we all…...