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from history of white people in america episode 6, the US capitol with a huge number of illustrations from world cultures of diverse peoples, none of them racial caricatures
Beyond the Films
December, 18, 2024

Behind the Animated, Musical Documentary About “Race Roulette”

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Independent Lens Staff The sixth episode of the short docuseries History of White People in America is in the format of a catchy musical, but for a purpose: to tell the story of the arbitrary system of race in…
October, 16, 2024

United States of Comedy

Independent Lens

United States of Comedy showcases emerging, diverse voices in comedy from Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Austin, providing a rare, intimate glimpse into their backstories alongside a mix of standup. Their jokes strike a chord with audiences from…
Illustration of a white man in colonial garb towering over miniature couples and families.
September, 30, 2024

The History of White People in America

Independent Lens

A series of musical animations, chronicling diverse experiences of how race has helped shape American culture. These shorts provide insight into the unique lived experiences of historical figures who played a role in the evolving definitions of identity.
man with tattoos sitting in front of make shift wooden crosses with american flags on them
July, 18, 2024

Make Peace or Die: Honor the Fallen

Independent Lens

Riddled with survivor's guilt after his unit lost 17 men during "Operation Enduring Freedom" in Afghanistan, Marine veteran Anthony Marquez makes it his mission to reconnect with the Gold Star families of the fallen. By carving and hand-delivering a battlefield…
Hunting knife on a table with a spoon of saffron below it
July, 18, 2024

Wild Hogs and Saffron

Independent Lens

A wild hog hunt in the Ozarks leads to an unexpectedly vulnerable dialogue between Iranian American filmmaker Andy Sarjahani and his childhood friend Bubba as they navigate a polarized world. As their paths diverged in the increasingly anti-Middle Eastern years…
Two men with dark skin tone, a father and son, wearing professional bike gear and helmets while standing in front of the St. Louis Arch with their bicycles at sunset.
July, 3, 2024

Bike Vessel

Independent Lens

Knowing his dad miraculously recovered from three open-heart surgeries after discovering a passion for cycling, filmmaker Eric D. Seals proposes an ambitious idea: Bike together from St. Louis to Chicago. 350 miles. 4 days. On their journey, the two push…
Photograph of a man and woman looking at a cityscape out of floor-to-ceiling windows covered in graffiti. One of the windows is broken and glass is scattered along the floor.
July, 3, 2024

Skin of Glass

Independent Lens

A journey to reckon with Brazil’s harsh inequality begins when filmmaker Denise Zmekhol discovers her father’s architectural masterpiece in São Paulo—a 24-story tall modernist icon known as “Pele de Vidro” (Skin of Glass)—is inhabited by hundreds of unhoused people. But…
Two women with short gray hair look into each other's eyes outside in a city while holding umbrellas.
June, 26, 2024

Matter of Mind: My Alzheimer’s

Independent Lens

Alzheimer’s disease transforms the lives of three families who confront the challenges of becoming primary caregivers.
Three teens from the Texas/Mexico border chat with a fourth teen on a horse.
June, 26, 2024

The In Between

Independent Lens

Following her brother's death, a filmmaker returns to Eagle Pass, the Texas bordertown where she grew up, to document the places that shaped their family. She finds a treasure trove of his own footage that brings him back to life,…
A woman outside a Jolibee restaurant in the Philippines wears a pink shirt and pink mask as she overlooks a crowd of people cheering under pink confetti.
June, 26, 2024

And So It Begins

Independent Lens

The Philippines' no-holds-barred race for president in 2022 becomes the nation's fight for its soul.
A man wears an American flag wrapped around his head and face with only his eyes showing. Two sets of hands surround him, carrying a hammer and wrench and American dollars, respectively.
June, 20, 2024

When I Close My Eyes

Independent Lens

His ability to paint portraits of Saddam Hussein likely saved his life. Oil painter Samir Khurshid reflects on his own tumultuous life growing up surrounded by death and chaos in war-torn Iraq. His densely layered work is heavily influenced by…
Illustration of a woman with black hair, red headband, and cat-eye glasses side-eyeing a rooster in front of a wall of yellow wallpaper.
Beyond the Films
June, 7, 2024

Pride in Our Art: 10 Queer Comic Artists Rise Up Other LGBTQ+ Cartoonists

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

In honor of our Independent Lens documentary No Straight Lines, the colorful story of groundbreaking queer comic book artists who went from underground comics to mainstream acceptance, we reached out to some of the acclaimed cartoonists featured in the film…