Blog

Disability rights activists assemble under an American flag with its stars arranged in the shape of a wheelchair.
October, 27, 2011

Lives Worth Living

Independent Lens

People with disabilities are one of the largest minorities in the United States. But for most of American history, they occupied a sub-class of millions without access to everyday things most citizens take for granted: schools, apartment buildings, public transportation,…
Benazir Bhutto speaks on the telephone while seated on a couch with a gold curtain in the background.
May, 10, 2011

Bhutto

Independent Lens

Benazir Bhutto was one of the most complex and fascinating characters of our time. Hers is an epic tale of Shakespearean dimensions, of a privileged girl born into Pakistan’s equivalent of the Kennedy family. She would trade her Western lifestyle…
May, 25, 2010

A Village Called Versailles

Independent Lens

More than three decades ago, Vietnamese refugees began to settle in Versailles, a then-isolated community in eastern New Orleans. By the early 2000s, this working-class enclave was home to 8,000 residents. But although the community had accomplished material successes, it…
Senain Kheshgi and Geeta V. Patel
May, 18, 2010

Project Kashmir

Independent Lens

For more than half a century, India and Pakistan have fought over Kashmir, a lush mountain region nestled in the Himalayas. Dodging artillery fire and escaping rape or torture remains the daily reality of those living in Kashmir, but much…
February, 23, 2010

Behind the Rainbow

Independent Lens

Can the deal between South Africa’s old apartheid regime and its new government withstand the test of time? The film explores the transition of the ANC, from a liberation organization into South Africa’s ruling party, through the evolution of the…
A smiling man in a suit sitting on a front stoop next to a small dog
February, 16, 2010

Mine

Independent Lens

As Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, the mayor issued a last-minute order for everyone to evacuate. In the clamor to get out of the city, many pet owners left their animals with food and water, fully intending to…
Banner with pictures of the Argentine disappeared carried by relatives
September, 21, 2009

Our Disappeared/Nuestros Desaparecidos

Independent Lens

Like many modern-day quests, Our Disappeared/Nuestros Desaparecidos starts with an innocent search on Google. But what begins with filmmaker Juan Mandelbaum’s mild curiosity about a former college sweetheart soon leads to a gripping personal journey into a world of brutality, repression,…
August, 30, 2009

En Route to Baghdad

Independent Lens

In June 2003, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights and Kofi Annan's special envoy to Iraq, delivered a message of hope to a country shattered by war, promising humanitarian aid, reconstruction, refugee return, economic…
June, 16, 2009

Ask Not

Independent Lens

This film exposes the tangled political battles that led to DADT and examines the societal shifts that have occurred since its 1993 passage. Current and veteran gay soldiers reveal how the policy has affected them during their tours of duty…
May, 5, 2009

Wings of Defeat

Independent Lens

They were Japan’s Divine Wind Special Attack Unit, or Kamikaze tokkōtai, and 4,000 of them — some still in their teens — died in a futile effort to turn the tide of a war already lost. Little known outside of…
A man in a dress shirt and a woman wearing a white headdress
March, 17, 2009

Arusi Persian Wedding

Independent Lens

For filmmaker Marjan Tehrani and her brother Alex, growing up Iranian American meant that political tensions often impacted their personal lives. Iran and the U.S. broke off their political relationship more than 25 years ago, but still engage in a…
February, 10, 2009

Tulia, Texas

Independent Lens

“This is a story about how our idea of justice gets corrupted when we declare war on something.” — Jeff Blackburn, criminal defense attorney On July 23, 1999, undercover narcotics agent Thomas Coleman carried out one of the biggest drug stings…