Blog

Former Klansman Scott Shepherd (right), with Daryl Davis, in front of the White House, in Accidental Courtesy
Beyond the Films

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…...

From scene in The Witness, an actress recreates moments before Kitty Genovese was attacked and killed on this same corner in Queens, NY
Beyond the Films

January 19, 2017

History of 911: America’s Emergency Service, Before and After Kitty Genovese

Carolyn Abate in Beyond the Films

On a cold winter night, March 13, 1964, at around 2:40 in the morning, 28-year-old Kitty Genovese was attacked with a knife just a block from her apartment and died in…...

portrait of Philbert McCleod, from What Was Ours
Beyond the Films

January 18, 2017

Philbert McLeod: Never Conquered (and Rest in Peace)

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

In this piece created for Independent Lens by filmmaker Mat Hames, we get to know more about Eastern Shoshone tribal elder Philbert McLeod, one of the stars of Hames' Independent…...

Beyond the Films

January 12, 2017

Native American Artifacts Tell a Story of Loss, Betrayal and Survival

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

Editor’s note: Author Jordan Dresser is featured in the Independent Lens film What Was Ours. He is a journalist, holds a Master's in Museum Studies, and is passionate about Native American…...

Political pundit Gore Vidal on a television monitor, 1968; courtesy Estate of Archie Lieberman
Beyond the Films

September 27, 2016

Evolution of TV Political Pundits: The Legacy of Buckley and Vidal

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

As depicted in Best of Enemies, bitter intellectual rivals Willam F. Buckley and Gore Vidal eviscerating each other with wit on network TV in 1968 made for riveting, and sometimes jaw-dropping, television. It…...

The Supreme Court of the United States, including the late Antonin Scalia (there are currently 8 justices until a 9th is confirmed).
Beyond the Films

June 09, 2016

Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt: What the Supreme Court Is Deciding in the Most Important Abortion Ruling in Decades (Updated 2022)

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

[caption id="attachment_13448" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Supreme Court of the United States, including the late Antonin Scalia (there are currently eight justices until a ninth is confirmed).[/caption] By Marcia Coyle @MarciaCoyle Guest…...

From Dogtown Redemption: A recycler named Jason takes a break from hauling with his bicycle and cart.
Beyond the Films

May 13, 2016

How Homeless Recyclers Make a Living Redeeming Recyclables

Carolyn Abate in Beyond the Films

It is 7 a.m. on a clear spring morning in San Francisco and the lines at Our Planet Recycling SF are already 25 people deep. The customers, queued up in…...

Armed in America: Faith & Guns title card
Beyond the Films

May 09, 2016

Armed in America: Faith & Guns

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyEk0YiiRwQ Join PBS for a town hall conversation about gun violence and the moral obligation to prevent it. Armed in America: Faith & Guns, a one-hour special event moderated by award-winning journalist Michel…...

Police in military fatigues huddle behind a SWAT robot
Beyond the Films

May 04, 2016

The Evolution of SWAT Team Equipment: From WWII Rifles to BearCats

826chi in Beyond the Films

When former Davis County Sheriff William "Dub" Lawrence, the subject of the Independent Lens film Peace Officer, established one of Utah's first SWAT teams in 1975 he initially required a four-officer unit, but…...

Horst van Wächter and Niklas Frank (l-r), with Philippe Sands in background
Lists

April 27, 2016

Blood Guilt: 12 Movies about Healing after Heinous Crimes

Sean Axmaker in Beyond the Films

Niklas Frank and Horst von Wächter are the adult children of high-ranking Nazi officers. As we learn in My Nazi Legacy, their fathers sent tens of thousands of people to…...

Douglas Mwonzora and Paul Mangwana (l-r) during a meeting about ratifying the new Zimbabwe constitution
Where Are They Now?

April 15, 2016

Zimbabwe Update: Still In Flux

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

The film Democrats, which aired on Independent Lens, traces the challenges and tensions that arose in Zimbabwe over the attempt to charter a new national constitution. While that African nation…...

A SWAT team on the move in Leith, North Dakota
Beyond the Films

April 01, 2016

Who Is Watching the Hate? Tracking Hate Groups Online and Beyond

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

In Welcome to Leith, the story of what happens when notorious white supremacist Craig Cobb tries to take over a small North Dakota community as a base for himself and his…...