The soundtrack to America’s civil rights movement before the mid-1960s was predominantly made up of gospel standards and spirituals, with a smattering of popular folk. But by the late 1960s,…...
Editor's note: While these aren't Independent Lens films of course, the Decline films are some of our very favorite music docs, make for perfect summertime viewing, and are finally all out together…...
Independent Lens presents a collection of photos and essays by photographer B. Proud from her book First Comes Love, offering a glimpse into the lives of LGBTQ couples who have been in love for decades: how they met, and how their relationships have evolved as they faced challenges unique to gay relationships. Read More
Not just a choreographer, Elizabeth Streb is a wildly extreme action architect. Born to Fly traces the evolution of Streb’s movement philosophy as she pushes herself and her dancers from the ground, to the wall, and to the sky. Read More
Elizabeth Streb was once called the "Evel Knievel of dance," and our documentary Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity captures her life as an "extreme action architect." Her choreography, which she calls…...
A native Hawaiian mahu, or transgender, woman uses traditional culture to create a place in the middle where every student is accepted. Despite the respect and admiration she’s achieved in her community, Hina still longs for true love. Read More
[caption id="attachment_6841" align="alignnone" width="600"] Hina performing with some of her students, from Kumu Hina[/caption] In tandem with the PBS film Kumu Hina, we created this Spotify playlist compiling some of the greatest…...
By Noel Murray When Lacey Schwartz applied to Georgetown at age 18, she left the “racial identity” box unchecked, but did submit a photograph, and not long after she was…...
March is Women's History Month, and, like a lot of people, we feel like women should be honored and celebrated every day of the year, but the idea behind an…...
Archival family photo from the Digital Diaspora Family Roadshow A wonderful companion piece to Thomas Allen Harris's film Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People is his…...
An artist-filmmaker takes a deeply personal look back through the parallel histories of how African Americans have been depicted in commercial photography, contrasted with how they were captured in family photos. Read More
June is always LGBTQ Pride Month, and traditionally it's been both a time for reflection on gay history and struggles (originally created to commemorate the Stonewall riots of June 1969), along with…...