When Naomi Kutin, an Orthodox Jewish girl from New Jersey, broke a world powerlifting record at the age of ten – lifting 215 pounds when she herself weighed only 97 pounds – she quickly became a media sensation, earning the nickname “Supergirl.” This intimate portrait follows her unique… Read More
In the Independent Lens documentary Ovarian Psycos, we're introduced to The Ovas — a chicanx (xicanx) feminist group who bike through the streets of East L.A. in honor of sisterhood. While…...
Ovarian Psycos brought together filmmakers Joanna Sokolowski, who co-produced the Emmy® Award-winning HBO documentary Very Semi-Serious (2015), about New Yorker cartoonists, and Kate Trumbull-LaValle, an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker who first began…...
As Women’s History Month continues, we’re shining the spotlight on women activists who faced down injustice, pioneered paths for other women and girls, or have fought heroically trying to save…...
The following is by Vonda Viland, principal of Black Rock Continuation High School in Yucca Valley in California's Mojave Desert, and subject of the documentary The Bad Kids. Viland's tireless work to…...
The Witness may be James Solomon's first film as director, but his vast experience as a storyteller made him the perfect fit for reopening this case. The Witness, which made…...
What has Michelle Smith, the star of Best and Most Beautiful Things (PBS premiere on Independent Lens Monday, January 2 at 10 pm), been up to since the filming stopped? In this exclusive new video produced by Independent Lens and the documentary’s filmmaking team who chatted with Michelle after… Read More
While Boston-based filmmaker Garrett Zevgetis has made several short films and worked for PBS's FRONTLINE, Best and Most Beautiful Things is his feature-length debut. Yet he's already been named one of "10…...
Ovarian Psycos is about a new generation of fierce, unapologetic and feminist women of color from the Eastside of Los Angeles who confront injustice, build community, and redefine identity through a raucous, irreverently named bicycle crew: The Ovarian Psycos Cycle Brigade. Through the personal stories… Read More
In rural Maine, a quirky, charming, and determined young woman named Michelle Smith lives with her mother Julie. Legally blind and on the autism spectrum, Michelle has big dreams and proudly wears the badge of outcast. Searching for connection, Michelle explores love and empowerment outside the limits of… Read More
Zackary Canepari and Drea Cooper's film T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold tells the story of Claressa "T-Rex" Shields, who at the 2012 London Olympics became the first American woman to win…...
The many global fans of our film Twin Sisters are constantly asking us for any kind of update on the twin girls featured in Mona Friis Bertheussen's popular documentary. After…...