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Armed in America: Police & Guns title card
Beyond the Films

May 09, 2016

Armed in America: Police & Guns

Independent Lens in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTgZbHEh4oI Join PBS for a town hall conversation examining the militarization of police and the nation's gun violence epidemic. Armed in America: Police & Guns, a one-hour special event moderated by award-winning…...

TRAPPED

TRAPPED goes to the front lines of the controversial battle currently being waged over so-called TRAP laws — Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers — which reproductive rights advocates believe are designed to restrict access to abortion. Told through the eyes of doctors, clinic owners, and staff in Alabama… Read More

Illinois Congressman Luis Gutiérrez arrested during immigration reform protest.
Announcements

October 19, 2015

Immigration Battle: The High-Stakes World of Immigration Reform

Independent Lens in Announcements

Premiering on PBS Tuesday October 20 at 10pm [please check local listings] as a co-presentation of Independent Lens and FRONTLINE, the new documentary Immigration Battle plunges straight into the heart of one…...

The Armor of Light

The Armor of Light follows the journey of Evangelical minister Rob Schenck, who is trying to find the courage to preach about the growing toll of gun violence in America, and Lucy McBath, the mother of an unarmed teenager who was murdered in Florida and whose story cast… Read More

Characters of 1971

Bill Davidon Bill Davidon was the mastermind and de facto leader of the Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI. Bill Davidon’s lifelong activities reflected his dedication to nonviolence, civil liberties, and ending the proliferation of nuclear weapons. He was a member of the national steering committee of… Read More

Portraits of Partnership

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

Limited Partnership

Decades before The Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8, one gay couple, a Filipino American and an Australian, fell in love and over the course of 40 years took on the U.S. government to fight for marriage and immigration equality. Read More

Interviews

May 18, 2015

Johanna Hamilton Goes Back to 1971 to Find Burglars Who Revealed Illegal FBI Spying

Craig Phillips in

1971: A year before the Watergate scandal sent shockwaves through the United States, with no end in sight to the Vietnam War, and anti-war protests intensifying. In that same year a group of ordinary…...

1971

A group of ordinary citizens broke into a small FBI office in Pennsylvania in 1971 and shared with the world their findings on COINTELPRO, the FBI’s illegal surveillance program. Now, they tell their story publicly for the first time. Read More

Re-enactment screenshot of the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI planning their Media, PA burglary.

May 14, 2015

Nine Movies about American Radicals

Independent Lens in Lists

By Noel Murray There’s something deeply and inherently provocative in movies that tell stories about open rebellion against the United States government, because they force us to think harder about…...

Test Your Knowledge

January 09, 2015

Evolution of a Criminal: Juvenile Justice Quiz

Craig Phillips in Test Your Knowledge

  Alongside the PBS documentary Evolution of a Criminal, we thought it'd be interesting to dig a little deeper into the topic of juvenile criminality in America. To step back for…...

Leveled Philadelphia row houses after the MOVE bombings
Behind the Films

July 11, 2014

From RealScreen: Archive Masterclass on the Making of the Film

Craig Phillips in

Super piece by Adam Benzine on Let the Fire Burn's extensive, exhaustive archival process, with insight from filmmaker Jason Osder: "Archive masterclass: Making Let the Fire Burn'."  The film had…...