Blog

Police cadets inspected by Oakland Police chief, in The Force
August, 31, 2017

The Force

Independent Lens

At a powder keg moment in American policing, The Force presents a fly-on-the-wall look deep inside the long-troubled Oakland Police Department as it struggles to confront federal demands for reform, a popular uprising following events in Ferguson, Missouri, and an…
From Prison in Six Landscapes, a man and boy play chess outside a prison
August, 26, 2016

The Prison in Twelve Landscapes

Independent Lens

In the United States there are 2.2 million people in prison, up from only 300,000 forty years ago, yet for most Americans, prisons have never felt more distant or more out of sight. A cinematic journey through a series of…
the three men of True Conviction pose in suits and hats on an industrial site
August, 23, 2016

True Conviction

Independent Lens

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” - MLK There's a new detective agency in Dallas, run by three exonerated men who all spent decades in prison. Their mission: to free other innocent people still behind bars. After serving…
Filmmaker Dawn Porter
Behind the Films
June, 13, 2016

Dawn Porter Unlocks the Story of Laws Targeting Abortion Providers

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Filmmaker Dawn Porter has shown a willingness to probe uncomfortable truths and untold stories in the past. LA Times critic Robert Lloyd called her acclaimed Independent Lens film Spies of Mississippi "eye-opening" for its look at the ways civil rights activists were spied…
The Supreme Court of the United States, including the late Antonin Scalia (there are currently 8 justices until a 9th is confirmed).
Beyond the Films
June, 9, 2016

Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt: What the Supreme Court Is Deciding in the Most Important Abortion Ruling in Decades (Updated 2022)

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

[caption id="attachment_13448" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Supreme Court of the United States, including the late Antonin Scalia (there are currently eight justices until a ninth is confirmed).[/caption] By Marcia Coyle @MarciaCoyle Guest Contributor, National Law Journal By the end of this month,…
Tony Sullivan in the living room of the home he shared with late partner Richard Adams for decades
Where Are They Now?
June, 8, 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 to be legally married in the world, in 1975 in…
Armed in America: Faith & Guns title card
Beyond the Films
May, 9, 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 Martin, weekend host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” explores the relationship…
Armed in America: Police & Guns title card
May, 9, 2016

Armed in America: Police & Guns

Independent Lens

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 journalist Michel Martin, weekend host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,”…
Filmmaker Abigail Disney sits down with Lucy McBath for the film Armor of Light
Behind the Films
May, 9, 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 of award-winning documentaries, including producing The Invisible War (Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated film for…
Announcements
May, 3, 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, about a former sheriff who, after establishing and training Utah’s…
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 (which Walker edited), but making Welcome to Leith was a…
Saeed Shariff Torres drives through the streets of Pittsburgh.
Interviews
February, 22, 2016

Lyric Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe Capture an FBI Informant

Craig Phillips in Interviews

To do a film about an undercover FBI anti-terror sting is already tricky territory to navigate, but filmmakers Lyric Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe infiltrated even deeper. In (T)ERROR, they gained unprecedented access to an FBI informant, for a documentary Brian Tallerico (on…