Blog

May, 17, 2011

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo

Independent Lens

Imagine cramming 128 million people onto an island the size of Montana — that's the density of Japan. Not surprisingly, space is at a premium and ergonomic design is right up there next to godliness. Yet even in Tokyo, the…
May, 3, 2011

A Film Unfinished

Independent Lens

At the end of WWII, 60 minutes of raw film was discovered intact in an East German archive. Shot by the Nazis in Warsaw in May 1942, and labeled simply "Das Ghetto," this footage quickly became a resource for historians…
April, 26, 2011

Marwencol

Independent Lens

On April 8, 2000, Mark Hogancamp was attacked outside a bar in Kingston, New York, by five men who beat him literally to death. Revived by paramedics, Mark had suffered brain damage and physical injuries so severe even his own…
Director Jeff Malmberg and Mark Hogancamp with their Marwencol alter egos. (Photo by Chris Shellen)
April, 25, 2011

Marwencol Director Reflects on a Man, His Dolls, and the Touch of Genius

826chi

Jeff Malmberg, director of Marwencol, took on much more than just a film project when he decided to shoot a documentary about Mark Hogancamp. Intrigued by a magazine article about Mark and his imaginary backyard universe, Jeff had to earn…
Vik Muniz portrait of man in a bathtub with shawl on his head with garbage dump in background, recreating Jacques-Louis David's famous painting, "The Death of Marat."
April, 19, 2011

Waste Land

Independent Lens

Filmed over nearly three years, Waste Land follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de…
April, 12, 2011

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Independent Lens

Centered on a rare interview that director and friend Tamra Davis shot with Jean-Michel Basquiat more than 20 years ago, this film chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the young artist. In the crime-ridden New York City of the…
April, 5, 2011

The Desert of Forbidden Art

Independent Lens

How did a treasure trove of banned Soviet art worth millions of dollars end up stashed in the far-off desert of Uzbekistan in a communist-funded museum? Thanks to the passion and daring of one man, Igor Savitsky, who loved the…
February, 22, 2011

William S. Burroughs: A Man Within

Independent Lens

William S. Burroughs: A Man Within investigates the life of the legendary beat author and American icon. Born the heir of the Burroughs' adding machine estate, he struggled throughout his life with addiction, control systems, and self. He was forced…
Interviews
February, 8, 2011

Live Chat with Best Doc Oscar Nominee Lucy Walker

826chi in Interviews

Filmmaker Lucy Walker joined us for a live chat on Wednesday, February 9 to talk about her film Waste Land. The documentary, which airs April 19 on Independent Lens has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.…
February, 8, 2011

When I Rise

Independent Lens

A gifted black music student at the University of Texas is thrust into a civil-rights storm that changes her life forever. Barbara Smith Conrad is cast in an opera to co-star with a white male classmate, fueling a racist backlash…
A man sings into a microphone.
February, 1, 2011

For Once in My Life

Independent Lens

Meet the Spirit of Goodwill band — a unique assembly of singers and musicians who live with varying degrees of physical and mental disability. They bond over their mutual love of music, and their fierce drive to improve and play…
January, 18, 2011

Between the Folds

Independent Lens

Origami may seem an unlikely medium for understanding and explaining the world. But around the globe, several fine artists and theoretical scientists are abandoning more conventional career paths to forge lives as modern-day paper folders. Through origami, these offbeat and…