Blog

Illustration of Michael Brown Sr., father of Michael Brown, looking into the distance. He has a long beard and wears a baseball hat.
July, 12, 2021

Ferguson Rises

Independent Lens

How does a father find purpose in pain? In 2014, Michael Brown Sr.’s son was killed by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, an event that fueled the global Black Lives Matter movement. But his personal story seeking…
Tran To Nga sits with victims of Agent Orange at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Behind the Films
June, 11, 2021

Filmmakers Show How Agent Orange Catastrophe Did Not End with the Vietnam War

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

The well-oiled, three-person machine behind The People vs. Agent Orange each brought their manifold backgrounds to the table in order to put together a film that involved equal parts investigative journalism, humanistic portrait of victims and fighters, and suspense thriller/detective…
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…
Woman (LaTonya Myers) in a San Antonio Spurs hat, celebrates a job offer
Beyond the Films
May, 24, 2021

UPDATE: LaTonya Myers Inspires Others to Reform the Justice System

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Renée Gasch LaTonya Myers spent nine months in jail because she couldn’t afford bail. Assessed as a “high-risk” to society by a computer algorithm, she faced the toughest of odds on her path to freedom.  But with the support…
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…
Photograph of Raymond Burr and William Talman the CBS-TV series Perry Mason
Beyond the Films
April, 29, 2021

Which of These 8 Fictional District Attorney Characters Do You Remember?

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Ade D. Adeniji Philly D.A.,the eight-episode docu-series on PBS, explores the unlikely emergence of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who runs on a progressive platform, and wins with nearly 75 percent of the vote. Pledging to end mass incarceration,…
4 members of Philly D.A's office in designed group shot
Beyond the Films
April, 27, 2021

Who’s Who in Philly D.A.

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

As you watch the epic eight-part docuseries Philly D.A. unfold, you may want help keeping track of key figures in this sprawling story of the battle over criminal justice reform in America’s sixth-largest metropolitan area. Here are some of the characters, both…
Larry Krasner looks over a ton of file boxes from way back, in Philly D.A.
Behind the Films
April, 20, 2021

Before Krasner: The Wild and Wooly Saga of Philadelphia District Attorneys

Independent Lens in Behind the Films

By Sharon Pruitt-Young It was a world-changing moment for the city of Philadelphia: Larry Krasner, a former criminal defense attorney and a highly polarizing figure in local politics, was elected as the city’s 26th district attorney in November 2017, defeating…
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…
Larry Krasner and his team celebrates their victory on election night in Philadelphia
Beyond the Films
April, 9, 2021

Philadelphia Has a Long History of Fights Over Criminal Justice Reform

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Kristal Sotomayor In order to understand the rich history of criminal reform work, up through the vivid stories of crime and punishment presented in the docuseries Philly D.A., it is important to recognize Philadelphia's origin story, as it were.…
Sgt. Alice White training cadets in procedural justice
Behind the Films
February, 5, 2021

Telling the Story of Gender, Politics, and Violence in America Through the Eyes of Women Police Officers

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

In addition to her documentaries Still Doing It: The Intimate Lives of Women Over 65, and Suicide On Campus, a web documentary produced in conjunction with The New York Times Magazine, Deirdre Fishel's previous film CARE peeled back the curtain…
The Philadelphia D.A., a man with light skin tone, gray hair, and glasses, sits in a leather chair flanked by his team: two rows of people with various skin tones wearing business casual attire.
December, 15, 2020

Philly D.A.

Independent Lens

In 2017, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had one of the highest incarceration rates of any major city in the United States. And it’s become the epicenter of a historic experiment that could shape the future of prosecution in America for decades to…