Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s
Three people—a political cartoonist, a mother turned boxing coach, and an optician—navigate their lives with resourcefulness and determination in the face of a degenerative illness, Parkinson’s disease. Read More
Beyond the Films
October 09, 2023
Forensic Anthropology Tools of the Trade
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Amy Whipple In 1992, forensic anthropologist Mercedes (Mimi) Doretti (pictured above, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the 1980s) traveled to El Salvador as part of a U.N.-sponsored team to…...
El Equipo
Interviews
April 27, 2023
“Laughter Is My Outlet”: How Michele Stellato is Living and Coping with ALS
Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films
After being diagnosed as a young woman with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), Michele “Shelly” Stellato said, "We had to decide what to do with the time we had left.” Part…...
Watch Video
February 23, 2023
6 Documentaries About the Black Experience
Independent Lens in Independent Film
Add these Independent Lens docs to your must-watch list. The Big Payback Directed by Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow Outta The Muck Directed by Ira McKinley and Bhawin Suchak The Picture…...
Lists
October 10, 2022
Wild & Disturbing: 10 Hazing Scenes in Movies and TV
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Ade D. Adeniji The documentary Hazing begs the question: How far will people go just to fit in? Our need to haze and be hazed has been explored in…...
Interviews
September 15, 2022
The Price of Hazing: A Personal Journey to Understand the Need to Belong
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
Byron Hurt has made indelible films about the traditions of African American culinary traditions (Soul Food Junkies) and masculinity and misogyny in rap music with his daring doc Hip-Hop: Beyond…...
Beyond the Films
September 13, 2022
The Psychology of Groupthink and the Desperate, Dangerous Desire for Social Acceptance
Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films
There's a slippery slope in the climb toward social acceptance. Why do people do what they do to be part of something, not just in college environments but in foreign…...
Hidden Letters
World Without Oil
On April 30, 2007, the world entered a global oil shock. Or so it seems at World Without Oil, an online ‘alternate reality’ that enlisted the world’s collective imagination to document the oil crisis with blogs, videos, and images. As the simulated crisis unfolded, people all over the U.S. and the… Read More
Hazing
Interviews
May 09, 2022
At Remote High School, Indigenous Teens Dream of a Glittering Future
Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films
South African-born, Utah-based documentarian Jared Jakins, currently the film curator at Granary Arts Center in Ephraim, Utah, is interested in stories of cultural intersection, and documenting communities and identities emerging…...