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…...
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…...
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,…...
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,…...
February 22, 2021
Who Was Mr. SOUL?
Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films
If you're of a certain generation and familiar at all with the late '60s and early '70s groundbreaking public TV show SOUL!, you may recognize the name Ellis Haizlip, but…...
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…...
January 13, 2021
The Story of 9to5: A Movement that Changed the American Workplace
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Julia Reichert and her filmmaking partner and life partner Steve Bognar, have been making documentaries for a long while. Most recently, in 2020, the team won the Academy Award for…...
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…...
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…...
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,…...
October 29, 2020
Parenting and Making Docs During a Pandemic? It’s a Juggling Act
Independent Lens in Interviews
By Ivonne Spinoza "Producing films often translates to putting out fires before they start, so I suppose this gets you ready for parenting in a pandemic, generally speaking, but did…...
October 20, 2020
How Three Passionate Candidates Represent Women Shaping the Future
Craig Phillips in Interviews
What does "representation" mean in the midst of a historically tense election year? In her film Represent, filmmaker Hillary Bachelder sought to show the universal struggle to redefine repressive expectations…...