Blog

Larry Krasner looks over a ton of file boxes from way back, in Philly D.A.
Beyond the Films

April 20, 2021

Before Krasner: The Wild and Wooly Saga of Philadelphia District Attorneys

Independent Lens in Behind the Films

By Sharon Pruitt-Young It was a world-changing moment for the city of Philadelphia: Larry Krasner, a former criminal defense attorney and a highly polarizing figure in local politics, was elected…...

Philly D.A. team, Ted Passon, Nicole Salazar, Yoni Brook (l-r)
Behind the Films

April 19, 2021

How the Team Behind “Philly D.A.” Captured History for Epic Docuseries

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Philadelphia-based filmmakers Ted Passon and Yoni Brook, and producer Nicole Salazar, had to work as a well-oiled machine team to make an epic docuseries like Philly D.A. happen. Each one…...

Filmmaker Ursula Liang with camera on location in New York
Interviews

April 07, 2021

“Nobody Was Listening”: Finding Light in a Dark Stairwell

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Filmmaker Ursula Liang's previous documentary 9-Man was about the fascinating titular sport that originated among Chinese immigrant communities in the United States and Canada, and was set in mostly Boston,…...

MIT researcher Joy Buolamwini in Coded Bias
Interviews

April 03, 2021

“Coded Bias” Explores Blurring of Real and Imagined Artificial Intelligence

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Shalini Kantayya has directed visually eye-catching and memorable work for both National Geographic TV with Breakthrough, a series profiling trailblazing scientists transforming the future) and the documentary Catching the Sun,…...

Sgt. Alice White training cadets in procedural justice
Interviews

February 05, 2021

Telling the Story of Gender, Politics, and Violence in America Through the Eyes of Women Police Officers

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

In addition to her documentaries Still Doing It: The Intimate Lives of Women Over 65, and Suicide On Campus, a web documentary produced in conjunction with The New York Times…...

Jared Leto working on his film carrying a blow torch
Interviews

January 06, 2021

How Jared Leto and 92 Film Crews Captured 24 Hours in America

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

In some ways, you'd think Jared Leto, Oscar-winning actor, movie star, and frontman for Platinum-selling band (with his brother Shannon) 30 Seconds to Mars, would not need much of an…...

woman Handcuffed to gurney in a prison, Belly of the Beast
Interviews

November 18, 2020

Filmmaker Exposes Shocking Pattern of Illegal Sterilizations in Women’s Prisons

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Erika Cohn has made powerful documentaries for Independent Lens before and is no stranger to telling intimate, surprising stories in tense environments: her Peabody Award-winning film The Judge showed Shari’a…...

Jonathan Scott at a solar company in Nevada, with solar panel
Interviews

November 06, 2020

Jonathan Scott Investigates Who Controls Our Power

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

In some ways Jonathan Scott should need no introduction—or so you'd think as co-host with his brother Drew of the hugely popular HGTV shows Property Brothers and Brother vs. Brother,…...

From animation of Pepe the Frog playing a video game with pal, from Matt Furie art
Interviews

October 02, 2020

How a Cartoon Frog Became a Symbol for a “Confounding Moment in Our History”

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Filmmakers Arthur Jones and Giorgio Angelini both bring very unique artistic backgrounds to the drawing table that led to the fruitful collaboration for Feels Good Man, which is Jones' feature…...

Interviews

June 17, 2020

Young Musicians Play Ancient Instrument in the “Olympics of the Pipe Organ”

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

The Montreal-based filmmaker Stacey Tenenbaum's joyful film The Art of the Shine, which aired on PBS, took the director all over the world, from New York to Toronto, Paris to…...

Interviews

June 09, 2020

How Do You Sort Through 70,000 Videotapes?

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

The San Jose (CA) native, New York City-based filmmaker Matt Wolf is no stranger to having to comb through archival footage for his documentaries. His film Wild Combination, about the…...

Sasha Neulinger editing Rewind in his editing suite
Behind the Films

May 01, 2020

Sasha Joseph Neulinger Confronts Family Trauma Head-On

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

It's been a pretty impressive run for what was someone's very first feature documentary. But then again, Rewind is no ordinary first film. After Sasha Joseph Neulinger finished film school…...