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…...
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…...
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…...
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…...
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,…...
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…...
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…...
October 08, 2021
The Damage from Gay Conversion Therapy Still Lingers for Many LGBTQ+ People
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Caitlin Cruz In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the list of diagnosable mental illnesses, a monumental victory for early queer activists. Despite this successful effort, queer…...
September 16, 2021
Telling the Story of When LGBTQ+ Activists Fought the Establishment and Won
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
The Los Angeles-based Bennett Singer and the D.C.-based Patrick Sammon have been making widely acclaimed historical documentaries for many years. Sammon was creator and Executive Producer of Codebreaker, a “superb”…...
June 11, 2021
Filmmakers Show How Agent Orange Catastrophe Did Not End with the Vietnam War
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
The well-oiled, three-person machine behind The People vs. Agent Orange each brought their manifold backgrounds to the table in order to put together a film that involved equal parts investigative…...
June 07, 2021
Muslim Casket Maker’s Story Becomes Cinematic Portrait of Resilience and Redemption
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
The filmmaker brothers Zeshawn and Aman Ali are now based in New York City but originally hail from Columbus, Ohio. "Growing up right outside of Columbus, we were just two…...
May 21, 2021
From Cambodia to Southern California: Telling the Story of a King of Donut Shops
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
A Los Angeles native, Alice Gu began her career as a Director of Photography, working with renowned directors Werner Herzog (on his fascinating Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected…...