Blog

Signature image for sharing: John Lewis and many other civil rights protestors at the Edmund Pettis bridge at Selma, 1965. Black and White news photo in pub domain.
Lists

July 10, 2020

“Your Vote Is Your Voice”: Best Films About Voting Rights

Sharon Knolle in Film History

The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights in a Democracy, and yet who has been allowed to vote in America has been a battle that’s been…...

Enrique and members of Toki Music School building with recyclable materials. From Eating Up Easter.
Interviews

May 20, 2020

Filmmakers Show the World the Real Easter Island, a Wakeup Call with Hope

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Sergio Mata'u Rapu has spent the last 15 years shooting and producing documentaries that have aired on History Channel, Travel Channel, National Geographic, and NOVA. Based in Minnesota, a very…...

Sasha Neulinger editing Rewind in his editing suite
Behind the Films

May 01, 2020

Sasha Joseph Neulinger Confronts Family Trauma Head-On

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

It's been a pretty impressive run for what was someone's very first feature documentary. But then again, Rewind is no ordinary first film. After Sasha Joseph Neulinger finished film school…...

mother and daughter hugging in hospital
Contests

April 08, 2020

Enter to Win a Copy of “Bedlam: An Intimate Journey into America’s Mental Health Crisis”

Independent Lens in Contests

Looking for your next great read? Bedlam: An Intimate Journey into America's Mental Health Crisis by Bedlam filmmaker Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, MD, sheds light on the mental-health-care crisis in the…...

Brian and Longlan Stuy at their home office for Research-China (from One Child Nation)
Beyond the Films

March 26, 2020

This Couple Finds Answers for Adopted Daughters From China

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

Brian and Long Lan Stuy are a Utah couple who have adopted three daughters from China: Meikina from DianBai, Meigon from Guangzhou, and Meilan from Luoyang. After discovering that documentation…...

Nanfu wang holds her baby while interviewing her mother
Interviews

March 25, 2020

Nanfu Wang’s Riveting Personal Story Probes Impact of One-Child Policy

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Taking risks is nothing new for Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang. Her previous documentary I Am Another You, which was a SXSW Jury Award-winner and aired on Independent Lens, involved her…...

GAI QI and her baby, in Leftover Women
Beyond the Films

February 05, 2020

The One-Child Policy Legacy on Women and Relationships in China

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Kristal Sotamayor The one-child policy was introduced to China in 1979, written into the national constitution in 1982, and subsequently ended in 2015. Over the 36 years of the…...

Xu Min, from Leftover Women, speaks to single men at a matchmaker event in China
Interviews

February 05, 2020

Filmmakers Follow Women in China Trying to Overcome Stigma of Being Single

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Israeli filmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia have had films air on international television as well as here in the U.S. on HBO, MTV, Sundance, and PBS (Medalia has received…...

Interviews

February 03, 2020

How “Cooked” Evolved into an Investigation of the Disaster Underlying a Disaster

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Documentary filmmaker Judith Helfand is best known for her ability to take the dark worlds of chemical exposure, heedless corporate behavior and environmental injustice and make them personal, highly-charged and…...

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…...

Activist Jose
Interviews

January 22, 2020

Finding Common Ground: The Story of an Unlikely Chicago Alliance

Craig Phillips in Interviews

It takes an incredible amount of tenacity and belief in a project to stick with it for 14 years, but that's just how long it took for Ray Santisteban to…...

Yusuf on the phone in Accept the Call
Interviews

January 14, 2020

Filmmaker Accepts the Call to Tell Story of a Father and Son Divided

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Filmmaker Eunice Lau, who is originally from Singapore (and boy does she have a story to tell you here about the experience of showing her film back home), was once…...