May 14, 2015
Nine Movies about American Radicals
Independent Lens in Lists
By Noel Murray There’s something deeply and inherently provocative in movies that tell stories about open rebellion against the United States government, because they force us to think harder about…...
May 13, 2015
1971 Pop Quiz
Independent Lens in Uncategorized
The acclaimed film 1971 airs on Independent Lens on PBS next Monday, May 18 [check local listings]. But first, test yourself on all things 1971, from music to sports, politics…...
May 11, 2015
Catherine Gund “Flies” with Elizabeth Streb, Extreme Action Architect
Craig Phillips in Uncategorized
As the subject of her new film Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity, New York-based filmmaker Catherine Gund found one of the more dynamic artistic minds in a city…...
May 08, 2015
Action Heroes of Dance: They Were Born to Fly
Craig Phillips in Uncategorized
[caption id="attachment_6887" align="alignleft" width="550"] STREB’s Samantha Jakus runs down the side of Bergdorf Goodman Building in NYC. Photo Courtesy Bergdorf Goodman.[/caption] In the film Born to Fly, we meet not…...
May 07, 2015
Art on the Edge: Extreme Dance, Performance, and More
Craig Phillips in Lists
Elizabeth Streb was once called the "Evel Knievel of dance," and our documentary Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity captures her life as an "extreme action architect." Her choreography, which she calls…...
May 04, 2015
Telling the Story of Kumu Hina
Craig Phillips in
Kumu Hina, which won the Frameline Jury Award for Achievement in Documentary, was called "a subtle but inspiring tale" by Alice Lytton in IndieWire. "This is a film which could, if given…...
April 30, 2015
Hawaiian Music: More Than Just Hula (But Also Hula)
Craig Phillips in Lists
[caption id="attachment_6841" align="alignnone" width="600"] Hina performing with some of her students, from Kumu Hina[/caption] In tandem with the PBS film Kumu Hina, we created this Spotify playlist compiling some of the greatest…...
April 27, 2015
After the Storm: Interactive Documentary Launches on Anniversary of Alabama Tornado Disaster
Craig Phillips in Uncategorized
On April 27, 2011, a powerful storm system unleashed a deadly series of tornadoes across central Alabama that devastated several cities. The largest tornado, which was categorized an F4, ripped through the Tuscaloosa, Alabama,…...
April 23, 2015
Brakeless Wins Peabody Award
Craig Phillips in
The Independent Lens film Brakeless, which aired this season, was just given the great honor of winning a Peabody Award, which recognizes distinguished and meritorious public service by American radio and television stations,…...
April 20, 2015
Margaret Brown Returns to the Gulf for The Great Invisible
Craig Phillips in
A native of Mobile, Alabama, filmmaker Margaret Brown received the 2010 Peabody Award for her second documentary feature, The Order of Myths (Independent Lens, 2009), which was about Mobile's Mardi Gras tradition.…...
April 17, 2015
Survivors: Confronting Deepwater Horizon Trauma through Oil on Canvas
Independent Lens in Where Are They Now?
Artist Sara Lattis Stone, whose husband Stephen Stone escaped the Deepwater Horizon disaster alive, turned to her craft — painting — as a means of confronting the post-traumatic stress her…...
April 13, 2015
Update: Kasey Checks In
Craig Phillips in Where Are They Now?
Kasey, one of the three formerly homeless teens portrayed in The Homestretch who are striving to make a better future for themselves, checked in just today to give us all…...