Blog

Overhead view of Gregory working at desk at home in Seattle, WA.
July, 12, 2021

The Great World of Gregory Blackstock

Independent Lens

When Gregory Blackstock was born in Seattle, Washington in 1946, “autistic” was not a term that doctors used. Yet it was clear from a very early age that Gregory processed the world around him differently and communication was challenging. After…
Methodist minister Charles Moore who set himself on fire in Grand Saline, Texas
July, 10, 2021

Man on Fire

Independent Lens

June 23, 2014: A 79-year-old white Methodist minister named Charles Moore drove to an empty parking lot in his old hometown of Grand Saline, Texas, and set himself on fire. He left a note on his car’s windshield explaining that…
Tribals members pay their respects at Little Chief's reburial at Sharp Nose Cemetery, Wind River Reservation, WY (From Left: Fay Ann Soldier Wolf, Mark Soldier Wolf, Hubert Friday, Nelson White, Crawford White, Yufna Soldier Wolf), 2017
July, 2, 2021

Home From School: The Children of Carlisle

Independent Lens

"Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.” This was the guiding principle that removed thousands of Native American children and placed them in Indian boarding schools. Among the many who died at Carlisle Indian Industrial School were three…
High school age girl and boy looking at piece of paper in classroom.
July, 2, 2021

Try Harder!

Independent Lens

At Lowell High School, San Francisco's academic pressure cooker, the kids are stressed out. With a majority Asian American student body, high-achieving seniors share their dreams and anxieties about getting into a top university. But is college worth the grind?
Two Indigenous American teens laugh together outside near a parking lot.
July, 2, 2021

Scenes From the Glittering World

Independent Lens

Three Indigenous students experience the highs and lows of adolescence while attending one of the most remote high schools in the United States. Living in the uniquely beautiful but isolated Diné community within the Navajo Nation reservation, they navigate life…
Michael standing in front of a mirror looking at his reflection.
June, 21, 2021

When I’m Her

Independent Lens

Michael Cusumano was a luminary figure at American Ballet Theatre in New York, and had a stellar career ahead of him. But trauma from his past prevented him from fully realizing his artistic and professional potential. Over time, he finds…
Black and white photograph of a man with dark skin tone helping a young boy use a drill while making a coffin.
Behind the Films
June, 7, 2021

Muslim Casket Maker’s Story Becomes Cinematic Portrait of Resilience and Redemption

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

The filmmaker brothers Zeshawn and Aman Ali are now based in New York City but originally hail from Columbus, Ohio. "Growing up right outside of Columbus, we were just two kids who didn’t really see people who looked like us…
Man in suit looking directly into the camera
June, 1, 2021

Just Over The Line

Independent Lens

Just Over the Line tells the story of Daniel Noell, a 59-year-old man who was arrested and charged with drug trafficking after using forged prescriptions at drugstores across Western North Carolina. Prosecuted for the same crime in both Buncombe and…
Rev. Robert Clement, a resident at the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Triangle Square, is crowned prom queen at the annual Senior Prom.
June, 1, 2021

Senior Prom

Independent Lens

For so many high-schoolers, prom is a rite of passage in all of its love-filled, well-coiffed, abundantly photographed glory. But for generations of LGBTQ+ youth - especially those that grew up in the decades before Stonewall - prom has been…
A smiling Cambodian-American man in a suit offers a pink box of donuts through a drive-thru window.
Behind the Films
May, 21, 2021

From Cambodia to Southern California: Telling the Story of a King of Donut Shops

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

A Los Angeles native, Alice Gu began her career as a Director of Photography, working with renowned directors Werner Herzog (on his fascinating Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World) and Stacy Peralta. Take Every Wave: The Life of…
May, 3, 2021

Out of State

Independent Lens

Out of State is an inside look at the lives of two native Hawaiians sent thousands of miles away from the tropical islands to a private prison in the Arizona desert. In this unlikely setting, David and Hale find a…
Philly D.A. team, Ted Passon, Nicole Salazar, Yoni Brook (l-r)
Behind the Films
April, 19, 2021

How the Team Behind “Philly D.A.” Captured History for Epic Docuseries

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Philadelphia-based filmmakers Ted Passon and Yoni Brook, and producer Nicole Salazar, had to work as a well-oiled machine team to make an epic docuseries like Philly D.A. happen. Each one is an award-winning producer in their own right: Brook has…