Blog

The JO Johnson High wrestling team comes in for a hug
Behind the Films
May, 15, 2019

Filmmakers Capture Young Men Wrestling to Succeed and Be Seen

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Wrestle may be the feature directing debut of the team of Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer, but after working for industry heavyweights like Martin Scorsese and Michael Moore, they hit the ground running and their award-winning, critically acclaimed film that…
J.O. Johnson High wrestling coach Chris Scribner works on the mat with two wrestling students
Beyond the Films
May, 14, 2019

High School Coaches Wear Many Hats to Make an Impact

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Katrina Schwartz Driving kids home from practice, taking them to visit colleges, running and lifting weights with them out of season, answering the phone in the middle of the night when something has gone wrong -- these are just…
Kids in Rose Street, Baltimore, in Charm City
Beyond the Films
April, 16, 2019

What “The Wire” Got Right, and Wrong, About Baltimore (and How “Charm City” Fills in the Rest)

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Lee Gardner Baltimoreans who venture beyond the I-695 beltway always know it’s coming. We meet someone from another city, or another country. They find out we’re from Baltimore, and after a suitably polite length of get-to-know-you chat, they bring…
Dasan and his mother out in the woods, from Tre Maison Dasan
Behind the Films
March, 25, 2019

Children Own Their Stories in Tre Maison Dasan

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Denali Tiller has been an artist, a teacher, a world traveler, and was named one of 110 “Filmmakers to Watch” by Variety, but Tre Maison Dasan happens to be her feature film debut, even if it is so assured and…
Director Morgan Neville
Interviews
February, 1, 2019

Five Questions About Fred Rogers with Morgan Neville

Craig Phillips in Interviews

"When I met Joanne Rogers, I told her I wanted to make a film not about Fred Rogers’ story but about his ideas," filmmaker Morgan Neville wrote about Won't You Be My Neighbor? "She smiled and said that sounded pretty good,…
January, 10, 2019

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Independent Lens

He gave us the most precious gift of all: the courage to be kind. For over thirty years, American children grew up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS. Mister Rogers offered a calm and stable presence, tackling life's weightiest issues…
Photo by Juja Han on Unsplash
Lifestyle
December, 18, 2018

Favorite Nonfiction Podcasts That Will Keep You Glued to Your Headphones

Independent Lens in Lifestyle

By Brooke Shelby Biggs We nonfiction nerds who are compulsive documentary watchers are usually also public radio listeners and magazine readers. Who among us doesn’t have a closet full of tote bags attesting to this? And, if you’re like me,…
Jailen Young before a match. From WRESTLE.
December, 6, 2018

Wrestle

Independent Lens

Wrestle goes inside the lives of four members of the high school wrestling team at Huntsville’s J.O. Johnson High School--a longstanding entry on Alabama’s list of failing schools. Teammates Jailen, Jamario, Teague, and Jaquan show that needing a win can…
An HBCU student tears up at his graduation, from Tell Them We Are Rising
Beyond the Films
February, 14, 2018

HBCU Grads Share Their Stories of Campus Life

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

Graduates of Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are proud alums, and in connection with the Independent Lens film Tell Them We Are Rising, which tells the 170 years—and rising—history of HBCUs, we found a few who were happy to tell…
Tell Them We Are Rising filmmakers Marco Williams and Stanley Nelson (l-r)
Interviews
January, 26, 2018

Filmmakers Marco Williams and Stanley Nelson Tell an Essential Chapter of American History in Story of HBCUs

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Tell Them We Are Rising, which premieres on Independent Lens on PBS Monday, February 19 at 9 pm [check local listings], covers the rich history of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) from before the end of slavery through a…
Young African American women graduating from college
August, 30, 2017

Tell Them We Are Rising

Independent Lens

The rich history of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) began before the end of slavery, flourished in the 20th century, and profoundly influenced the course of the nation for over 150 years — yet remains largely unknown. With…
Beyond the Films
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 and is requested to help “build character and morale.” (Think…