January 14, 2020
Filmmaker Accepts the Call to Tell Story of a Father and Son Divided
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
Filmmaker Eunice Lau, who is originally from Singapore (and boy does she have a story to tell you here about the experience of showing her film back home), was once…...
December 09, 2019
Telling the Incredible True Story of a Dogsledding Legend
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Filmmaker Catharine Axley seeks stories of empowerment through subjects that defy expectations, and the lesser-known but remarkable story of George Attla certainly qualifies. Axley's film ATTLA, which won Best Feature Documentary at…...
November 06, 2019
Following the Journey of Interpreters We Left Behind
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Filmmakers Andrés Caballero and Sofian Khan's previous feature-length collaboration Gaucho del Norte, which made its broadcast premiere on public television’s America ReFramed series, followed the journey of a Patagonian immigrant sheepherder recruited to work…...
October 30, 2019
Decade of Fire Filmmakers Change the Narrative About the South Bronx
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
The three-headed team as it were, of co-directors Vivian Vázquez Irizarry and Gretchen Hildebran, and producer Julia Steele Allen, each brought something different and special to the table in the…...
October 25, 2019
“A Scene I’ll Never Forget.” Filmmaker Intimately Captures Surrogacy Journey in Boise
Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films
Emmy and Peabody-winning producer/director Beth Aala has gone from a Pool Party (her first film as director) filled with amazing music, the story of how a swimming pool became the center of a…...
May 15, 2019
Filmmakers Capture Young Men Wrestling to Succeed and Be Seen
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
Wrestle may be the feature directing debut of the team of Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer, but after working for industry heavyweights like Martin Scorsese and Michael Moore, they hit…...
May 07, 2019
Bernardo Ruiz Tells Story of the Central Role Latinos Play in California Wine Industry
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
Two-time Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz, who was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and grew up in Brooklyn, made his directorial feature debut with the PBS film Reportero, about attacks on the press…...
February 07, 2019
RaMell Ross Charts “the Visual Story of Blackness” in Oscar-Nominated Doc
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
Just one year after RaMell Ross' Hale County This Morning, This Evening won a Special Jury Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the filmmaker will follow his film's television debut…...
February 01, 2019
Five Questions About Fred Rogers with Morgan Neville
Craig Phillips in Interviews
"When I met Joanne Rogers, I told her I wanted to make a film not about Fred Rogers’ story but about his ideas," filmmaker Morgan Neville wrote about Won't You Be…...
January 30, 2019
The Challenge of Making a Film About Racist Relics
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Filmmaker and teacher Chico Colvard's first feature doc, Family Affair, premiered at Sundance and was the first film acquired by Oprah Winfrey for her cable channel, OWN. The searingly personal documentary explored…...
January 11, 2019
RUMBLE Filmmakers Go Deep into the Indigenous Foundations of Rock
Craig Phillips in Interviews
The making of RUMBLE was a team effort, all of them passionate about bringing an important story to the world. Director-producer Catherine Bainbridge and co-director Alfonso Maiorana worked with Executive Producer…...
January 10, 2019
11 Questions for 3 Filmmakers About a Million Swamp Rats
Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films
The trio of filmmakers behind the Independent Lens film Rodents of Unusual Size -- Jeff Springer, Chris Metzler and Quinn Costello -- have previously captured unique environmental stories with a very…...