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…...
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…...
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
Test Your Knowledge
April 28, 2022
A Hard “Try Harder!” Quiz: Are You Smarter than a High Schooler?
Independent Lens in Test Your Knowledge
Out of all the facts and figures that you were ever tested on, how much did you actually retain? This quiz may prove "not much!" Test yourself on actual questions…...
Interviews
April 18, 2022
Investigating the Mysteries of Consciousness
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
AWARE: Glimpses of Consciousness is the fourth film collaboration between Eric Black and Frauke Sandig, who are based in San Francisco and Berlin respectively, but managed to collaborate on a…...
Storm Lake
AWARE: Glimpses of Consciousness
What is the science behind consciousness? Six brilliant researchers from around the world—a brain scientist, a plant behaviorist, a healer, a philosophy professor, a psychedelics scientist, and a Buddhist monk—take you on a mind-blowing quest to investigate this seemingly unsolvable mystery. Read More
Beyond the Films
April 05, 2021
Coded Bias” Asks: Are Our Faces Being Used Against Us?
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Christina Sturdivant Sani Coded Bias begins with MIT researcher Joy Boulamwini’s quest to find out why facial recognition technology inaccurately viewed her beautifully-hued brown face. After viewing the documentary with…...
Interviews
April 03, 2021
“Coded Bias” Explores Blurring of Real and Imagined Artificial Intelligence
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
Shalini Kantayya has directed visually eye-catching and memorable work for both National Geographic TV with Breakthrough, a series profiling trailblazing scientists transforming the future) and the documentary Catching the Sun,…...