April 04, 2018
Watch The Seven-Part Series “Sentencing Children”:
Independent Lens in Watch Video
Watch our seven-part, Webby Award-nominated series on juvenile sentencing laws, "Sentencing Children." "Sentencing Children" was produced by Dan Birman and Independent Lens. This series is part of Independent Lens‘s commitment to…...
December 12, 2017
On Supergirls, Sasha Fierce, Slim Shady and Having an Alter Ego
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Michelle Konstantinovsky Naomi Kutin is technically the central subject of the new Independent Lens documentary Supergirl. But as the film unfolds, viewers learn fairly quickly that there are actually two equally important…...
December 07, 2017
Jessie Auritt Explores the World of an Unorthodox Girl in Orthodox World
Craig Phillips in Interviews
"Showcasing a normal girl doing extraordinary things, Supergirl is a health tonic for this cramping climate of resurgent sexism underway where girls everywhere are struggling to understand their worth," wrote…...
August 24, 2017
Dogumentary Now: 7 Docs About Urban Dogs
Sharon Knolle in Lists
Just like the human population, dogs in the city can live a life of luxury or — sadly — roam the streets looking for food, shelter and the occasional kind…...
June 18, 2017
12 Father’s Day Docs: Stepping Out of Dad’s Shadow
Craig Phillips in Lists
Relationships with our dads can be complicated, as reflected in a collection of diverse, very worthy documentary films we've selected for Father's Day viewing consideration. All of the dads depicted…...
June 16, 2017
Transgender People Trying to Find Love
826chi in Beyond the Films
In the Independent Lens film Real Boy, transgender nineteen-year-old Bennett is touched to find his reluctant mother by his side as he undergoes a double mastectomy as part of his…...
June 16, 2017
Real Boy Director Shaleece Haas on Filming a Family in Flux
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Documentary filmmaker Shaleece Haas has made several acclaimed shorts, worked as an editorial photographer and radio producer, and was a founding staff member of the national oral history project StoryCorps.…...
May 17, 2017
Teachers Beat the “Macho Culture” in Prisons through Art Programs
826chi in Beyond the Films
In the early 2000s, Hollywood invested in the urban fairy tale where a teacher is called into the principal’s office of a school in a low-income, broken part of town…...
May 17, 2017
Juan and Jarad Write From Prison
Independent Lens in Where Are They Now?
We thought viewers of Ben Lear's They Call Us Monsters may be interested in hearing from the young men featured in the film. Yes, they have a lot of free…...
April 03, 2017
Kim A. Snyder Tells Newtown Families’ Deeply Intimate Story
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Filmmaker Kim Snyder is no stranger to having to patiently and empathetically ingratiate herself with a community. Her film Welcome to Shelbyville, which was nationally broadcast on Independent Lens, spent time in a…...
March 31, 2017
Healing Places: Rebuilding After a Community Tragedy
Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films
"The only thing tragedy gives us is the opportunity to rebuild our life." -writer Paulo Coelho The film Newtown asks, "What remains after all is lost?" Some have said that it…...
March 17, 2017
Filmmakers Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton Tell Story of At-Risk Youth Getting Last Chance
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
Filmmakers Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton have gone from the deserts of Spain (for their acclaimed film Lost in La Mancha about Terry Gilliam's ill-fated attempt to make a Don Quixote…...