Blog

From Missing in Brooks County: Omar Roman and his wife Michelle at a ranch in Brooks County, TX, where Homero Roman Gomez went missing.
Beyond the Films

February 03, 2022

“Death Valley for Migrants”: The Invisible Cost of Border Crossing

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Ivonne Spinoza What is more important: laws or lives? This is the question at the center of the immigration debate and its ramifications.  Conversations around illegal border crossings often…...

family plays video game while a game is superimposed over them; Original photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels.com
Lifestyle

December 22, 2020

Leveling Up Representation: Depictions of People of Color in Video Games

Independent Lens in Lifestyle

By Nadine Dornieden The $100+ billion video game industry is big. So big, in fact, that it dwarfs both the film and music industry combined. Gaming as a hobby has become…...

Test Your Knowledge

June 16, 2020

Do You Live in a News Bubble?

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Brooke Shelby Biggs Whether you think of her as a visionary or a kook, Marion Stokes was far ahead of her time in addressing a problem in American media…...

From First Rainbow Coalition: Young Lords members protest at 18th Ave. Police Station, Chicago
Beyond the Films

January 28, 2020

From Race Riots to Rainbow Coalitions and Heatwaves: Chicago Activism on Racial and Economic Justice

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

It would be foolhardy to try to succinctly sum up the political history of one of America's most historically politically complicated cities--Chicago--in one sweeping post. Rather, consider this a basic…...

doctor takes a patient's blood pressure; image courtesy Rawpixel.com
Beyond the Films

April 04, 2019

New Efforts to Improve Rural Healthcare Crisis

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Suzanne Gordon The three caregivers we meet in The Providers face daunting challenges as they try to deliver medical and mental healthcare to patients in rural New Mexico. Sadly,…...

An HBCU student tears up at his graduation, from Tell Them We Are Rising
Beyond the Films

February 15, 2018

HBCU Grads Share Their Stories of Campus Life

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

Graduates of Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are proud alums, and in connection with the Independent Lens film Tell Them We Are Rising, which tells the 170 years—and rising—history of…...

Jiro and son Takashi, in Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Lists

June 18, 2017

12 Father’s Day Docs:  Stepping Out of Dad’s Shadow

Craig Phillips in Lists

Relationships with our dads can be complicated, as reflected in a collection of diverse, very worthy documentary films we've selected for Father's Day viewing consideration. All of the dads depicted…...

National Bird director Sonia Kennebeck
Interviews

April 28, 2017

Sonia Kennebeck Makes Film About the Human Cost of Drone Wars and Whistleblowing

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Sonia Kennebeck's film National Bird, which was executive produced by renowned filmmakers Errol Morris and Wim Wenders, takes a risk just by making it in the first place. It tells the…...

A Navy X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration aircraft takes off and flies for the first time Feb. 4, 2011, at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The Northrop Grumman-built aircraft flew for 29 minutes during the flight test. (Via Wikimedia commons)
Beyond the Films

April 27, 2017

A Drone by Any Other Name: The Different Kinds of Drones

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

Drones are at the center of the Independent Lens film National Bird, though the documentary puts a very human face behind military drone operations, focusing on the post-traumatic stress stemming from participating…...

A woman marches down a Delhi street shouting in protest as water cannons shower the scene.
Awards

April 26, 2016

Independent Lens Wins 2016 Peabody Award for India’s Daughter

Independent Lens in Awards

Independent Lens is proud to announce that Leslee Udwin’s India’s Daughter, which premiered on the PBS series in November 2015, is the winner of a 2016 Peabody Award. The Peabody…...

webby award with binary code on it
Awards

April 08, 2016

Independent Lens Nominated for Webby Awards

Independent Lens in Announcements

Three projects from Independent Lens have been recognized by the Webby Awards, the leading international awards for excellence on the Internet, which were called “the Internet’s highest honor” by The…...

Plaintiff Maria Hurtado and her husband, Salvador
Interviews

January 30, 2016

Renee Tajima-Peña on the Women of the Madrigal vs Quilligan Case

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary for her film Who Killed Vincent Chin?, which aired on PBS back in 1989. She's hardly sat still since then;…...