Blog

May, 5, 2014

A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power, and Jayson Blair at The New York Times

Independent Lens

A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power, and Jayson Blair at The New York Times tells the shocking story of Jayson Blair, the most infamous serial plagiarist of our time, and how he unleashed the scandal that rocked The New York Times and the…
Archival photo of Muhammad Ali.
Interviews
April, 11, 2014

The Trials of Muhammad Ali: Q&A with Bill Siegel

Independent Lens in Interviews

Editor's note: This interview with filmmaker Bill Siegel is brought to you in partnership with our friends at POV, and conducted by excellent, widely-respected independent journalist Tom Roston.  By Tom Roston  Wait, what, another Muhammad Ali documentary? I’ve always found the great…
Beyond the Films
February, 10, 2014

Uncle Sam Wants (to Spy on) You: Domestic Surveillance in the USA

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="270"] Edward Snowden in Moscow, October 2013 (picture via Wikimedia)[/caption] Spies of Mississippi, about a previously little-known chapter in the civil rights movement, comes at a time when the subject of domestic spying continues to be on…
Civil Rights activists are confronted by police.
February, 10, 2014

Spies of Mississippi

Independent Lens

Spies of Mississippi is a journey into the world of informants, infiltrators, and agent provocateurs in the heart of Dixie. The film tells the story of a secret spy agency formed by the state of Mississippi to preserve segregation and…
Immigration protestors on the streets of Phoenix
Test Your Knowledge
January, 14, 2014

Immigration Quiz

826chi in Test Your Knowledge

An always hot-button topic, immigration gets at the heart of who we are as Americans. Our immigration quiz is meant to test your knowledge of immigration in the United States. You may find some of the questions challenging, and just…
UC Berkeley campus with the Campanile (Sather Tower) in the background.
January, 13, 2014

At Berkeley

Independent Lens

“[At Berkeley] is a state-of-the-nation masterwork, a vitally important piece of work, and should be seen by as many people as possible.” – Oliver Lyttleton, The Playlist Renowned documentarian Frederick Wiseman has long been considered the “most democratic of great…
November, 25, 2013

Young Lakota

Independent Lens

South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation is no stranger to strife and heartbreak, stark realities and inspired idealism. In Young Lakota, we are brought directly into the emotional and often uncertain journey of Sunny Clifford, her twin sister Serena, and their…
October, 21, 2013

The Waiting Room

Independent Lens

Highland Hospital, a vital part of the city of Oakland, California and the surrounding county, is stretched to the breaking point. It is the primary care facility for 250,000 patients of nearly every nationality, race, and religion, with 250 patients…
A man and woman wearing gas masks stand outside a derelict home on a snowy street in Detroit.
May, 27, 2013

Detropia

Independent Lens

Detroit was the birthplace of the middle class, an industrial utopia where anyone who worked hard enough could experience the American dream. But today, the Motor City, which has essentially been taken over by the state of Michigan, is on…
A female soldier wearing military fatigues looks over her shoulder into the camera.
May, 13, 2013

The Invisible War

Independent Lens

The Invisible War is a groundbreaking investigative documentary about one of America’s most shameful and best kept secrets: the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. The film, a nominee for the 2013 Academy Awards, paints a startling picture of…
April, 22, 2013

The Island President

Independent Lens

Jon Shenk’s The Island President tells the story of former president Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, a man confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced—the survival of his country and everyone in it. After bringing…
Inmates gather in a holding cell, seen through a viewing slot in a secure metal door.
April, 8, 2013

The House I Live In

Independent Lens

For the past 40 years, the war on drugs has resulted in more than 45 million arrests, $1 trillion dollars in government spending, and America’s role as the world’s largest jailer. Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer, and…