Blog

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…
Black and white photograph of Dolly Parton from the '70s looking off camera to the right.
Beyond the Films
January, 27, 2021

Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” Still Packs a Punch

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Lennlee Keep There isn't much the whole world seems to agree on, but I have yet to meet a person who doesn't love Dolly Parton. She's funny, glamorous, famous, and fabulous. Oh, and she sings too. For over 50…
Illustration of two women — one with dark skin tone, one with light skin tone — working in an office and wearing 1970s fashions.
Beyond the Films
January, 20, 2021

Working Women’s Wardrobe: How the 1970s Opened Feminist Fashion

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Marlen Komar In the early 1970s, a group of Boston secretaries came together to improve the working conditions in their offices. Tired of low pay, lack of advancement opportunities, and constant sexual harassment, they created the group 9to5, which…
Black and white photograph of a large group of women protesting at a rally for equal pay.
Interviews
January, 13, 2021

The Story of 9to5: A Movement that Changed the American Workplace

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Julia Reichert and her filmmaking partner and life partner Steve Bognar, have been making documentaries for a long while. Most recently, in 2020, the team won the Academy Award for American Factory, about the reopening of a shuttered auto factory…
Two NFL dancers with light skin tone pose with their backs to the camera and pom-poms in hand in front of a large courthouse.
December, 28, 2020

Battling a Male-Dominated World for Recognition and a Raise

Craig Phillips

Filmmaker Yu Gu was born in Chongqing, China, raised in Vancouver, Canada, and found her way to the University of Southern California film program. Her films, like the feature documentary that she co-directed Who is Arthur Chu?, which won two…
Black and white photograph of a woman speaking into a megaphone at a rally for equal pay.
November, 25, 2020

9to5: The Story of a Movement

Independent Lens

They couldn’t kill their bosses, so they did the next best thing  — they organized. When Dolly Parton sang “9 to 5,” she was doing more than just shining a light on the fate of American working women. Parton was…
Fenell Doremus with kid on laptop and husband and dog in background
Interviews
October, 29, 2020

Parenting and Making Docs During a Pandemic? It’s a Juggling Act

Independent Lens in Interviews

By Ivonne Spinoza "Producing films often translates to putting out fires before they start, so I suppose this gets you ready for parenting in a pandemic, generally speaking, but did I feel prepared for the reality of 2020? That’s a…
Marchers at a Black and Brown Unity rally in Chicago, June 2020. Photo by Mateo Zapata/Courtesy of Quiet Pictures.
Lists
September, 9, 2020

Honor Hispanic Heritage Month with Eight Unique Documentaries

Independent Lens in Lists

By Lola Méndez Hispanic Heritage Month has been honored annually in the United States since 1968 when President Lyndon Johnson first launched it as Hispanic Heritage Week. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan expanded the celebration to last the four weeks…
An NFL dancer with light skin tone and brown-blond hair wears a sparkly sports bra and holds two pom-poms at her waist.
July, 24, 2020

A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem

Independent Lens

A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem sheds light on the continued fight to end the gender pay gap prevalent throughout the National Football League. For over 50 years, the NFL has employed cheerleaders—women who are lifelong athletes expected to…
Black and white photograph of three young people in berets as part of a Rainbow Coalition.
Beyond the Films
January, 28, 2020

From Race Riots to Rainbow Coalitions and Heatwaves: Chicago Activism on Racial and Economic Justice

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

It would be foolhardy to try to succinctly sum up the political history of one of America's most historically politically complicated cities--Chicago--in one sweeping post. Rather, consider this a basic primer of touchstones that connect some key dots, with recommendations…
Vintage photos from the winemaking history of the Robledo family from their collection
Beyond the Films
May, 8, 2019

Harvest Season’s Historical Roots: Latinos in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys

826chi in Beyond the Films

Bittersweet -- this is the taste you’re left with after watching Harvest Season’s central storylines come to a close. Loved ones are reunited while wineries are engulfed in flames and the one constant through all the personal, natural, and political…
Winemaker Vanessa Robledo control-burning her dry grapevines
Behind the Films
May, 7, 2019

Bernardo Ruiz Tells Story of the Central Role Latinos Play in California Wine Industry

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Two-time Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz, who was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and grew up in Brooklyn, made his directorial feature debut with the PBS film Reportero, about attacks on the press in Mexico, which New York Magazine called "a powerful reminder of how…