Blog

The Romans family putting up missing person poster in Brooks County, for their missing brother
Interviews

January 10, 2022

Confronting the Agonizing Facts of Life and Death in Brooks County

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Missing in Brooks County is an eye-opening investigation set in an unforgiving region of South Texas, where migrants go missing more than anywhere else in the United States. The documentary…...

young man sits on the steps in Baltimore, in scene from Owned
Interviews

January 07, 2022

Owning Up to the Dark History of America’s Housing Industry

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Before stepping into film, Giorgio Angelini had quite the diverse path: After touring in indie rock bands for most of his 20s, he enrolled in the Master of Architecture program…...

Carl hugs his daughter in scene from Reckoning in Boston
Interviews

January 06, 2022

Filmmaker and Clemente Course Students Team Up to Reckon with Systemic Racism

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

A most unusual arrangement helped A Reckoning in Boston get to its final form. Three individuals with widely divergent backgrounds teamed up for what became a collaborative story about Clemente…...

blue Art of the Free Press t shirt with silhouetted image of Art Cullen including mustache
Contests

December 04, 2021

Enter to Win a Storm Lake T-Shirt

Independent Lens in Contests

We're giving away five eye-catching "Art of the Free Press" T-shirts spotlighting Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Art Cullen, whose story is featured in Storm Lake. Watch the documentary now on the…...

Arapaho and Shoshone children arrive off the train to Carlisle, 1881
Beyond the Films

November 30, 2021

Three Arapaho Boys: Reclaiming Their Lives and Retelling Their Stories

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

This article was published in tandem with the Independent Lens documentary Home from School: The Children of Carlisle By Jordan Dresser When the Indian wars were coming to a close…...

Tribals members pay their respects at Little Chief's reburial at Sharp Nose Cemetery, Wind River Reservation, WY (From Left: Fay Ann Soldier Wolf, Mark Soldier Wolf, Hubert Friday, Nelson White, Crawford White, Yufna Soldier Wolf), 2017
Interviews

November 22, 2021

Northern Arapaho Tribal Members Find Hope in the Unacknowledged History That Haunts Our Present

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

The Wyoming-based team behind Home From School: The Children of Carlisle worked together to make a powerful documentary about a tribe coming together. It is the story of Northern Arapaho…...

Rebecca flies a kite in the movie Duty Free, a pointilized version of photo.
Test Your Knowledge

November 17, 2021

QUIZ: Which Bucket List Is Yours?

Craig Phillips in Test Your Knowledge

How about your own bucket list?  What would be on it? One of the most fun—and moving—storylines in the documentary Duty Free is how filmmaker Sian-Pierre Regis was able to…...

Sian-Pierre and his mother Rebecca pose for a selfie while traveling in Europe, from Duty Free

November 10, 2021

“This film has defined me”: A Son’s Bucket List Journey with His Mother

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Sian-Pierre Regis has been many things: a journalist, an influencer in multiple social media spheres, founder of​ online cultural magazine Swagger.NYC, and contributor to outlets including CNN, CNNi, HLN, CBSN,…...

Aloe Blacc performing the song
Watch Video

November 09, 2021

Aloe Blacc Goes to the “Other Side” for Ferguson Rises

Independent Lens in Watch Video

Aloe Blacc's inspiring anthem, "Other Side," is the featured song in the PBS documentary Ferguson Rises. The tragic killing of teenager Michael Brown Jr. by Ferguson, Missouri, police launched the…...

Michael Brown Senior is at the center of this photo mourning and celebrating the life of his son Michael, wearing red St Louis Cardinals hat.
Interviews

November 08, 2021

“A Father Hurts Too”: In Conversation with Michael Brown Sr and the Filmmaker of Ferguson Rises

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Ade D. Adeniji Ferguson Rises, a documentary by filmmaker Mobolaji Olambiwonnu, brings us back to the days before the masks and the quarantining, the summer of protests and the…...

Storm Lake Times newspaper for sale in a local restaurant
Beyond the Films

November 03, 2021

Feisty Community Newspapers That Are Surviving or Thriving Against the Odds

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Julie Reynolds Martinez The Storm Lake Times, as featured in the documentary Storm Lake, isn’t the only small, independent newspaper to hang on in the age of news deserts.…...

Many people in a room paying attention to a Latina caucus leader during the Iowa Caucuses in 2020.
Interviews

October 27, 2021

Going Inside the Family-Run Newspaper Keeping Local Journalism Alive

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Beth Levison is no stranger to having her films on Independent Lens. Notable producing credits include Women in Blue and the Emmy-nominated Made in Boise. For her latest film, Storm…...