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February, 13, 2017

History or Hate: America’s Controversial Monuments to White Supremacy

826chi in Lists

The thing about claiming territory and property is that it takes up space, and taking up space literally makes a huge statement; it becomes a platform for discussing who built something there, and why. So when black musician Daryl Davis…
Former Klansman Scott Shepherd (right), with Daryl Davis, in front of the White House, in Accidental Courtesy
Beyond the Films
February, 9, 2017

Reformed Racists: Is There Life After Hate for Former White Supremacists?

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

Accidental Courtesy portrays African American musician Daryl Davis's attempt to change white supremacists by gradually shattering their prejudices with his friendship. It's a complicated, risky, and controversial pursuit, but Davis has succeeded in convincing numerous men to abandon their hatred to become reformed racists.…
Interviews
February, 9, 2017

Filmmaker Matt Ornstein Captures Daryl Davis’s Quest to Confront Racism, One Racist at a Time

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Filmmaker Matt Ornstein has a background in music videos and short films (one of which, Atlantis, was about that space shuttle's last launch and starred Jason Ritter), but the story of Daryl Davis called to him to the point where…
Silhouetted image of William M. Trotter speaking in protest about Birth of a Nation, from Birth of a Movement
Interviews
February, 2, 2017

Filmmakers Tell Story of William Trotter’s Fight Against Racist Silent Blockbuster

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Birth of a Movement, based on Dick Lehr's book, captures the backdrop to a prescient clash between human rights, freedom of speech, and a changing media landscape — that happened in 1915. It is essentially the story of legendary film director D.W.…
From Forever Pure, a dedicated Beitar FC fan with back to camera, tattooed
January, 27, 2017

Forever Pure

Independent Lens

Forever Pure examines the clash between personal identity, politics, money and sports, and how racism has the potential to destroy not only a team but an entire society. Beitar Jerusalem Football Club, formed in 1936, is the most popular and…
I Am Not Your Negro Oscar Nominee graphic
Announcements
January, 24, 2017

Independent Lens Film “I Am Not Your Negro” Nominated for 2017 Academy Award

Craig Phillips in Announcements

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced the nominations for the 89th Oscars and Independent Lens was thrilled to learn that I Am Not Your Negro [official site] received a nomination for Best Feature Documentary. Raoul Peck's film, narrated by…
portrait of Philbert McCleod, from What Was Ours
Beyond the Films
January, 18, 2017

Philbert McLeod: Never Conquered (and Rest in Peace)

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

In this piece created for Independent Lens by filmmaker Mat Hames, we get to know more about Eastern Shoshone tribal elder Philbert McLeod, one of the stars of Hames' Independent Lens documentary What Was Ours. Philbert had an incredible breadth…
Beyond the Films
January, 11, 2017

Native American Artifacts Tell a Story of Loss, Betrayal and Survival

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

Editor’s note: Author Jordan Dresser is featured in the Independent Lens film What Was Ours. He is a journalist, holds a Master's in Museum Studies, and is passionate about Native American history and culture.  By Jordan Dresser If you listen closely,…
Wind River Director, Mat Hames, and DP, Wilson Waggoner, film a Northern Arapaho child at the Ethete Powwow.
Interviews
January, 11, 2017

Filmmaker Mat Hames Goes to Wind River to Amplify Native Voices

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Award-winning filmmaker Mat Hames’s feature documentary, When I Rise, about African American mezzo-soprano and civil rights icon Barbara Conrad, was featured on Independent Lens and nominated for an IDA Documentary Award. One of Mat's other films, Last Best Hope, about…
Interviews
December, 21, 2016

Garrett Zevgetis Hacks Normal for a Best and Most Beautiful Film

Craig Phillips in Interviews

While Boston-based filmmaker Garrett Zevgetis has made several short films and worked for PBS's FRONTLINE, Best and Most Beautiful Things is his feature-length debut. Yet he's already been named one of "10 Filmmakers to Watch" by the Independent magazine: "Best and Most Beautiful…
Meet the Patels animation capturing Ravi Patel and family waiting at airport while he's dumbstruck; for the Independent Lens love quiz
Test Your Knowledge
December, 20, 2016

Meet the Patels on PBS Presents a Love Quiz!

Independent Lens in Test Your Knowledge

Keeping with the "looking for love" theme of the documentary Meet the Patels, we present you with a fun quiz that will tell you where you will most likely find true love! Even if you're already "taken," we think you'll…
Mel Brooks in the Last Laugh demonstrates his Hitler impression with moustache and all
September, 26, 2016

The Last Laugh

Independent Lens

The Holocaust would seem to be an absolutely off-limits topic for comedy. But is it? History shows that even victims of Nazi concentration camps used humor as a means of survival and resistance. Still, any use of comedy in connection…