Blog

Tony Sullivan in the living room of the home he shared with late partner Richard Adams for decades
Where Are They Now?

June 08, 2016

United States Officially Recognizes Tony Sullivan and Richard Adams’s Marriage

Craig Phillips in Where Are They Now?

For those of you who remember the dear story told in the Independent Lens film Limited Partnership, longtime partners Tony Sullivan and Richard Adams became one of the first same sex couples…...

TRAPPED: Resources

Texas State Capitol Building In conjunction with the broadcast premiere of TRAPPED, we’ve created a page of resources where visitors can learn more about the often contentious, complicated issues surrounding the regulation of reproductive health clinics. This reading list includes additional viewpoints on the subject, as well as information from both… Read More

Dogtown Redemption Filmmakers Chihiro Wimbush and Amir Soltani (l-r)
Interviews

May 13, 2016

Seven Years Filming the Homeless of Oakland

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

The filmmaking team of Amir Soltani and Chihiro Wimbush both come from incredibly varied backgrounds, and bring an abundance of talents and interests to the table for the first feature…...

From Dogtown Redemption: A recycler named Jason takes a break from hauling with his bicycle and cart.
Beyond the Films

May 13, 2016

How Homeless Recyclers Make a Living Redeeming Recyclables

Carolyn Abate in Beyond the Films

It is 7 a.m. on a clear spring morning in San Francisco and the lines at Our Planet Recycling SF are already 25 people deep. The customers, queued up in…...

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

May 09, 2016

Armed in America: Faith & Guns

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyEk0YiiRwQ Join PBS for a town hall conversation about gun violence and the moral obligation to prevent it. Armed in America: Faith & Guns, a one-hour special event moderated by award-winning journalist Michel…...

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…...

Filmmaker Abigail Disney sits down with Lucy McBath for the film Armor of Light
Behind the Films

May 09, 2016

Abigail Disney Wields the Power of Dialogue with The Armor of Light

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Abigail Disney (her grandfather was Roy O. Disney, Walt's brother and co-founder of the Walt Disney Company, just to get that out of the way) has long been a producer…...

Announcements

May 03, 2016

PBS to Present “Armed in America” Town Halls, a Special Two-Night Event After Independent Lens

Independent Lens in Announcements

PBS will present ARMED IN AMERICA, a special two-night television event exploring the nation’s rising gun violence. Armed in America centers around two acclaimed documentaries presented by Independent Lens: Peace Officer,…...

Horst van Wächter and Niklas Frank (l-r), with Philippe Sands in background
Lists

April 27, 2016

Blood Guilt: 12 Movies about Healing after Heinous Crimes

Sean Axmaker in Beyond the Films

Niklas Frank and Horst von Wächter are the adult children of high-ranking Nazi officers. As we learn in My Nazi Legacy, their fathers sent tens of thousands of people to…...

A SWAT team on the move in Leith, North Dakota
Beyond the Films

April 01, 2016

Who Is Watching the Hate? Tracking Hate Groups Online and Beyond

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

In Welcome to Leith, the story of what happens when notorious white supremacist Craig Cobb tries to take over a small North Dakota community as a base for himself and his…...

Behind the Films

March 31, 2016

“Leith” Filmmakers Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker Capture a Town in a Powderkeg

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker have produced eye-popping, gritty fare before, including an acclaimed film about street dancing, Flex Is Kings, and the HBO film Hard Times: Lost in Long Island…...

The Rise of SWAT: Sources

A list of sources for stats seen in the animated short film about S.W.A.T., for Peace Officer.   In 1964, S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics) is formed. Sources:, Mitchel P. Roth, Historical Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001); and… Read More