Blog

Unrest signature image with Jen Brea getting a test on her brainwaves, including IL audience award graphic now
Announcements
June, 18, 2018

Make Your Voice Heard: Pick Your Favorite 2017-18 Independent Lens Film (Updated)

Independent Lens in Announcements

It's that time of the year again: Now that Independent Lens has concluded another season, we need you to vote for the recipient of this year's Audience Award. Yes you, the audience! Vote for your favorite documentary from 2017-2018's award-winning…
Actor/writer Nick Offerman
Behind the Films
April, 20, 2018

Five Questions with Nick Offerman about Wendell Berry

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Look & See: Wendell Berry's Kentucky co-producer Nick Offerman, an actor of many an indie film and of course on TV's Parks & Recreation, Fargo, and author of Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living, as well as gifted…
Shahin Najafi in a public performance, from When God Sleeps
Beyond the Films
March, 30, 2018

Censored Iranian Artists, Poets and Musicians Threatened with Exile

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

[Note: Please enjoy this guest essay on Iranian artists and censorships, in conjunction with the broadcast premiere of When God Sleeps, by artist and game creator Kurosh ValaNejad. See more on him at the end.] by Kurosh ValaNejad, guest contributor In…
Dolores Huerta at a press conference, as seen in the movie Dolores
Independent Film
March, 7, 2018

From Jane to Dolores, Agnès to Elsa, Documentaries on Unheralded Women Who Made History

Sharon Knolle in Independent Film

In celebration of Women's History Month (every March), we focus on great recent documentaries about great women, all who forged their own path in times and places where that wasn't expected or encouraged, especially for a woman. As director Brett Morgen…
Musician/Composer Dan Deacon performing; photo by Adam Boaz
Beyond the Films
February, 16, 2018

10 Questions with “Rat Film” Composer Dan Deacon: On Baltimore, Rats, Player Pianos and Theremins

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

Baltimore-based composer/musician Dan Deacon did the music for Theo Anthony's Rat Film. The film, which uses the urban rat as a way to explore a deeper story of urbanization and segregation, is a unique blend of history, science and sci-fi,…
Wooden Figure Lying On Floor Watching Television, By Andrey_Popov, via Shutterstock
Lists
February, 12, 2018

Beyond Romance: Searching for the Meaning of Love on Screen

Independent Lens in Lists

Although there are as many ways to love as there are people to do the loving, we are trained from an early age to value the pair-bond above all else. The tension and release of romantic love (and its loss)…
Dylan with filmmaker Nanfu Wang reflected at right, shooting I Am Another You
Interviews
January, 24, 2018

How a Chinese Filmmaker Ended up in Florida with a Drifter from Utah

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Nanfu Wang was a student at NYU when she went exploring America, which found her in Florida staying at a hostel. There she encountered a young drifter named Dylan, whom she found fascinating enough to start filming, capturing his experiences…
The cast of Served Like a Girl, posing for the Ms Veteran America pageant
Announcements
January, 19, 2018

Independent Lens Announces Spring 2018 Slate of Award-Winning Films

Independent Lens in Announcements

Independent Lens, which recently won the 2017 IDA Documentary Award for Best Curated Series from the International Documentary Association, now officially announces our March-May 2018 lineup on PBS. Dolores, Peter Bratt’s highly-acclaimed film about activist Dolores Huerta premieres March 27;…
Anti-War March Chicago, 1968 (public domain)
Lists
September, 13, 2017

12 Documentaries About the Vietnam War on the American Homefront

Noel Murray in Lists

On Sunday, September 17th, PBS will debut the latest project from Ken Burns and his frequent collaborator Lynn Novick: the ten-part, 18-hour series The Vietnam War. Just like Burns and Novick’s previous films The War (about WWII) and Prohibition (about…
From Paul Fierlinger's Still Life with Animated Dogs, his dog Spinnaker
Lists
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 touch. In honor of National Dog Day (Aug. 26) and…
Montage of images from each of 20 films from Independent Lens 2016-17 season
Announcements
June, 30, 2017

2016-17 Independent Lens Audience Award Poll! The Winner Is…

Craig Phillips in Announcements

It's time to vote for your own personal favorite from the just-concluded 2016-2017 season of Independent Lens. The voting period will run through 5 pm PT Friday, July 21. There were 20 films in this season that lasted from October through…
Jiro and son Takashi, in Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Lists
June, 17, 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 here had a major impact on the lives of their…