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Short Film “Folk Frontera” Shows the Culture of Life on the Border
Behind the Films
September, 15, 2023

Short Film “Folk Frontera” Shows the Culture of Life on the Border

Independent Lens in Behind the Films

By Ivonne Spinoza Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn’s Folk Frontera is a border-set tale, expertly portraying the beauty and heartbreak that comes with living on the U.S.-Mexico border. Connecting two strangers through their love of music, this short film highlights…
A woman with her hair in braids is superimposed over a purple-hued Los Angeles at dusk.
September, 7, 2023

The Tuba Thieves

Independent Lens

What is the role of sound and what does it mean to listen? Hard of hearing filmmaker Alison O’Daniel uses a series of tuba thefts in Los Angeles high schools as a jumping-off point to explore these questions. Through several…
A close up of a young woman with light skin tone and dark hair playing the violin.
Beyond the Films
January, 4, 2023

The Magic of Venezuelan Classical: From El Sistema and Beyond

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

At the center of the documentary Children of Las Brisas are the young musicians of El Sistema, the extraordinary, publicly financed, voluntary sector music-education program founded in Venezuela in 1975 by educator, musician, and activist José Antonio Abreu. Playing a…
A photo of a violinist with osteogenesis imperfecta holding her instrument. She wears a red flower in her hair and has a eyebrow ring.
Beyond the Films
November, 1, 2022

“Everybody’s Voice Is Unique”: Disability in the Performing Arts

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Allison Kirkland Kelsey Peterson's journey in Move Me will resonate with anyone who has undergone change and found something different but just as beautiful on the other side of that change. Using dance and choreography as a guiding framework,…
Two girls with medium-light skin tone read sheet music and play the violin while sitting on a floral couch.
August, 16, 2022

Children of Las Brisas

Independent Lens

In Venezuela, amidst a backdrop of poverty, murder, and corruption, the El Sistema youth orchestra offers children hope and the opportunity to pursue a life of art in spite of the harshness of the society around them. Yet the country’s…
Woman in dress dancing and smiling
May, 26, 2022

Folk Frontera

Independent Lens

Far West Texas is a place where local folklore looms as large as the landscape. Two fronteriza women—one a public radio music show host, the other a Mariachi and folklórico dancer—live in two cultures at the same time, as they…
Aloe Blacc performing the song "Other Side" in a special performance for Ferguson Rises and Independent Lens. He's wearing a wide brimmed hat.
Watch Video
November, 8, 2021

Aloe Blacc Goes to the “Other Side” for Ferguson Rises

Independent Lens in Watch Video

Aloe Blacc's inspiring anthem, "Other Side," is the featured song in the PBS documentary Ferguson Rises. The tragic killing of teenager Michael Brown Jr. by Ferguson, Missouri, police launched the energetic rise of #BlackLivesMatter and a historical wave of racial…
Claressa Shields deep in thought while listening to music with headphones
Lists
August, 3, 2021

Claressa Shields’ Workout Playlist

Craig Phillips in Lists

Check it out. Claressa "T-Rex" Shields, Olympic champ and star of the documentary T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold, sent us the tunes she pops into her iPod whenever she has to hit the canvas for a grueling workout. The Olympic Gold…
Howard Mordoh starring in his first music video performance for the band “The Know.”
April, 6, 2021

The Dancing Man of L.A.

Independent Lens

69-year-old Howard Mordoh is a retired clinical laboratory scientist, a southern California native, and possibly the world’s biggest concert enthusiast. Self-described as a “professional audience,” Howard has been a notorious fixture of the Los Angeles music scene for decades, attending…
side profile of man with glasses
Beyond the Films
February, 22, 2021

Who Was Mr. SOUL?

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

If you're of a certain generation and familiar at all with the late '60s and early '70s groundbreaking public TV show SOUL!, you may recognize the name Ellis Haizlip, but he's not exactly a household name. The groundbreaking producer and…
Ellis Haizlip on the set of SOUL! withEllis Haizlip on the set of SOUL! with the band Mandrill the band Mandrill; Photo by Alex Harsley
Beyond the Films
February, 17, 2021

Listen Up: How Music Was the Heart of SOUL!

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

by Nick Dedina Today we take it for granted that Black culture is mainstream American culture. But, before the age of hip-hop, cable TV, the internet, streaming, and mobile phones, African Americans basically had to crowdsource their own entertainment guide. …
On the set of SOUL! with Ellis Haizlip interviewing Melvin Van Peebles [Credit: Chester Higgins]
Beyond the Films
February, 9, 2021

How SOUL! Helped Pave the Way for Black Cultural Programming

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Ade D. Adeniji Mr. SOUL! explores America’s first Black variety television show SOUL!, which ran from 1968 to 1973, and was steered by pioneering Black producer and host Ellis Haizlip. Many have likely seen the pristine sets of SOUL!…