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Lifestyle

December 20, 2019

New Year’s Resolutions and Goals from the Independent Lens Film Family

Independent Lens in Lifestyle

What are your own resolutions for the New Year? Or your personal hopes, dreams, and goals? We reached out to some members of the Independent Lens family -- the directors…...

menorah
Lifestyle

December 10, 2019

9 Lights for Hanukkah: Finding Light in Dark Times

Sharon Knolle in Lifestyle

This Hanukkah, as millions light their menorahs and rededicate themselves to their family, their faith and their communities, we look for ways to find and share joy, light, healing, and…...

Two dogs from Blair Braverman's crew waitin the snow
Lifestyle

December 05, 2019

Mush! One Day in the Life of a Dogsledder

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Blair Braverman Writer and dogsled racer Blair Braverman, who spent two summers working as a dogsled guide on a glacier in Alaska, also wrote the acclaimed book Welcome to…...

Multi-sided dice from Dungeons and Dragons
Lifestyle

August 28, 2019

Game On: Why We Are Playing Board Games More Than Ever

Independent Lens in Lifestyle

By Lennlee Keep It was the summer of 1979 in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Everyone in my family gets a sunburn when we even think about a beach, so we are very…...

J.O. Johnson High wrestling coach Chris Scribner works on the mat with two wrestling students
Beyond the Films

May 14, 2019

High School Coaches Wear Many Hats to Make an Impact

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Katrina Schwartz Driving kids home from practice, taking them to visit colleges, running and lifting weights with them out of season, answering the phone in the middle of the…...

Simons and Parham in Oakland
Beyond the Films

April 19, 2019

Stepping Up for Homeless Black People in Oakland

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Pendarvis Harshaw The Independent Lens documentary Charm City brings to mind the long list of urban American cities that fall into the same category as the Baltimore seen in…...

Live streaming star Shen Man at her computer during a live stream
Beyond the Films

February 20, 2019

Is This Real Life: The Live Streaming Craze Explained

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Siyi Chen When my dad, a small businessman from Southeast China, asked me, his social media-savvy daughter, how to utilize the internet to help sell his agricultural products, the…...

From the film Rodents of Unusual Size, animation of nutria overrunning on island in Louisiana
Beyond the Films

January 04, 2019

Invasive Species Turned into Sustainable Delicacies

826chi in Beyond the Films

by Claralyse Palmer Vegetarianism has become synonymous with environmentalism, the idea being that going meat-free saves not just animals but the planet (which certainly has some truth to it, especially…...

Photo by Juja Han on Unsplash
Lifestyle

December 18, 2018

Favorite Nonfiction Podcasts That Will Keep You Glued to Your Headphones

Independent Lens in Lifestyle

By Brooke Shelby Biggs We nonfiction nerds who are compulsive documentary watchers are usually also public radio listeners and magazine readers. Who among us doesn’t have a closet full of…...

Photo by Philippe Put,
Lifestyle

August 29, 2018

Paperback Throwback: Favorite Comfort Books

Craig Phillips in Lifestyle

There's something about a paperback book, that fading feel of a flexible, tangible book, of buying one used and finding weird notes scribbled in the margins, the musty smell after…...

Lifestyle

July 20, 2018

Great American Melting (Crock)Pot: Comfort Food Recipes from Independent Lens Family

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

In trying times, we turn to food. Especially comfort food, recipes from childhood, from our families, that warm our spirits and send us back to simpler times. We reached out…...

Woman meditating and doing yoga on a laptop screen, images courtesy Pexels.com
Lifestyle

July 09, 2018

The Pursuit of APP-iness: Can Tech Help Soothe Anxiety?

Craig Phillips in Lifestyle

It may be presumptuous to state this but I will take a chance: I'm likely not the only one out there these days feeling the pull of anxiety. And thus…...