Blog

A mother in a wheelchair finds joy in her young child, from Lives Worth Living
Independent Film

July 16, 2020

The Evolution of Disability in Film: After the Accolades, the Work Continues

Independent Lens in

By Lawrence Carter-Long Once upon a time, disability was just a diagnosis. Through time, the word has evolved to encompass larger more expansive concepts like community, identity, and culture. In…...

Lynching scene in Within Our Gates (by Oscar Micheaux)
Beyond the Films

February 20, 2020

As American as the Blues: Lynching in Film and TV

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Ade Adeniji Always in Season explores the history of lynching through the mysterious 2014 death of Lennon Lacy while also looking at historical reenactments of lynching, prompting some to…...

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…...

Awards

April 16, 2019

Independent Lens Wins Two 2018 Peabody Awards

Craig Phillips in Announcements

Independent Lens is proud to announce that two of the series' films —Dolores and The Judge — have won 2018 Peabody Awards in the Documentary category. The oldest and most prestigious award for…...

Copyright IDIOM Film, Courtesy RaMell Ross; Family at hospital, from Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Interviews

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…...

Elvis Presley's Rolls-Royce parks in front of a row house, in The King
Lists

January 23, 2019

Elvis and the Death of the American Dream, Through Movies

Sean Axmaker in Beyond the Films

Elvis Presley is ostensibly the subject of The King, Eugene Jarecki's expansive road movie of a documentary. The award-winning director drives Presley's 1963 Rolls-Royce across the US, from Mississippi and…...

Indie Lens Wins 2 News & Doc Emmy Awards
Awards

October 02, 2018

Independent Lens Wins Two 2018 News & Documentary Emmys: TOWER and Forever Pure

Craig Phillips in Awards

  The News & Documentary Emmy Awards were presented on Monday, October 1, 2018, in a ceremony at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City,…...

Unrest signature image with Jen Brea getting a test on her brainwaves, including IL audience award graphic now
Awards

June 18, 2018

Make Your Voice Heard: Pick Your Favorite 2017-18 Independent Lens Film (Updated)

Independent Lens in Announcements

It's that time of the year again: Now that Independent Lens has concluded another season, we need you to vote for the recipient of this year's Audience Award. Yes you,…...

Actor/writer Nick Offerman
Behind the Films

April 20, 2018

Five Questions with Nick Offerman about Wendell Berry

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Look & See: Wendell Berry's Kentucky co-producer Nick Offerman, an actor of many an indie film and of course on TV's Parks & Recreation, Fargo, and author of Paddle Your Own…...

Shahin Najafi in a public performance, from When God Sleeps
Beyond the Films

March 30, 2018

Censored Iranian Artists, Poets and Musicians Threatened with Exile

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

[Note: Please enjoy this guest essay on Iranian artists and censorships, in conjunction with the broadcast premiere of When God Sleeps, by artist and game creator Kurosh ValaNejad. See more…...

Dolores Huerta at a press conference, as seen in the movie Dolores
Independent Film

March 08, 2018

From Jane to Dolores, Agnès to Elsa, Documentaries on Unheralded Women Who Made History

Sharon Knolle in Independent Film

In celebration of Women's History Month (every March), we focus on great recent documentaries about great women, all who forged their own path in times and places where that wasn't expected…...