Blog

A woman with dark skin tone, wearing a black dress and pearl necklace, sits on a white couch surrounded by photos of her son who has passed due to hazing.
Behind the Films
September, 15, 2022

The Price of Hazing: A Personal Journey to Understand the Need to Belong

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Byron Hurt has made indelible films about the traditions of African American culinary traditions (Soul Food Junkies) and masculinity and misogyny in rap music with his daring doc Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. For his new film, he tackles a…
Blue icons representing men and women line an image, creating a pattern of symbols. A single orange icon peels itself off of the page to distinguish itself.
Beyond the Films
September, 12, 2022

The Psychology of Groupthink and the Desperate, Dangerous Desire for Social Acceptance

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

There's a slippery slope in the climb toward social acceptance. Why do people do what they do to be part of something, not just in college environments but in foreign policy war rooms, in workplaces, in locker rooms, and beyond?…
A young woman and an elderly woman reading a letter in a room by the light of a single window.
August, 16, 2022

Hidden Letters

Independent Lens

For centuries in China, the once-secret written language of Nüshu was calligraphed on folded fans and handkerchiefs as hidden letters so women could share stories and express solidarity in a repressive era when many women were denied literacy. Confronting patriarchy,…
July, 5, 2022

World Without Oil

Independent Lens

On April 30, 2007, the world entered a global oil shock. Or so it seems at World Without Oil, an online 'alternate reality' that enlisted the world's collective imagination to document the oil crisis with blogs, videos, and images. As the…
Film poster for "Hazing" showing a young man with medium-dark skin tone and a young woman with light skin tone. Over both their eyes is a red blindfold that says the word "Hazing" on it.
June, 22, 2022

Hazing

Independent Lens

Hazing is a widespread, far-reaching practice fueled by tradition, secrecy, groupthink, power, and the desire to belong in fraternities and sororities on college campuses across the U.S. Filmmaker Byron Hurt embarks on a deeply personal journey to understand the underground…
A young Indigenous American girl plays with another's hair while a third looks on outside on the Navajo Nation Reservation.
Beyond the Films
May, 9, 2022

At Remote High School, Indigenous Teens Dream of a Glittering Future

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

South African-born, Utah-based documentarian Jared Jakins, currently the film curator at Granary Arts Center in Ephraim, Utah, is interested in stories of cultural intersection, and documenting communities and identities emerging from that intersection. Scenes from the Glittering World, his feature…
Students walk outside the entrance to Lowell High School.
Beyond the Films
May, 2, 2022

A Wild Two Years Since ‘Try Harder’: What You Need to Know About Lowell High School

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Holly McDede Bay Area filmmaker Debbie Lum’s documentary Try Harder! captures the unnerving pressure facing seniors at San Francisco’s elite Lowell High School, where students need high grades and top-notch test scores to get in. Nearly half the students…
A scantron sheet from a standardized test with a yellow post-it stuck to it reading "Are you smarter than a high schooler?"
Test Your Knowledge
April, 28, 2022

A Hard “Try Harder!” Quiz: Are You Smarter than a High Schooler?

Independent Lens in Test Your Knowledge

Out of all the facts and figures that you were ever tested on, how much did you actually retain? This quiz may prove "not much!" Test yourself on actual questions from recent sample or practice standardized tests for high school…
An illustration of a young girl weighed down by a heavy red and yellow backpack.
Beyond the Films
April, 27, 2022

How Today’s High School Students Face High Pressure in a Grind Culture

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Gail Cornwall Christina Zhang, 16, averages a couple hours of free time a day, but it’s hard to watch Netflix. “The whole time you’re thinking about, ‘Oh, what if other people are working right now, and they are getting…
An Asian American student smiles at graduation, wearing a burgundy cap and gown.
Behind the Films
April, 22, 2022

Telling Asian American Stories That Resonate: Filmmaker Explores Why These High School Students Are Stressed Out

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

During her long time living in the San Francisco Bay Area, filmmaker Debbie Lum was greatly influenced by working as an editor for documentarian Spencer Nakasako. Lum as a youth was transfixed by American and World cinema, but came of…
A Mayan healer in a dark room looks up towards the sky with a single source of light shining on her face.
Behind the Films
April, 18, 2022

Investigating the Mysteries of Consciousness

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

AWARE: Glimpses of Consciousness is the fourth film collaboration between Eric Black and Frauke Sandig, who are based in San Francisco and Berlin respectively, but managed to collaborate on a film that involved traveling both around the globe and through…
Poster for PBS educational show "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" showing members of the cast in costume and illustrations of the TV show's characters.
Lifestyle
March, 5, 2022

Remember These Classic PBS Educational TV Shows?

Independent Lens in Lifestyle

[Carmen Sandiego image courtesy producer Howard Blumenthal] By Ade D. Adeniji Sesame Street. Magic School Bus. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Reading Rainbow. Millennials and Gen Xers were lucky enough to come of age during the prime of public educational television. But…