Blog

the three women running for office, composite image for Represent
July, 22, 2020

Represent

Independent Lens

Local elections, especially those in smaller cities in Middle America, are often overlooked by national media, even though the dynamics at play can mirror — and even predict — the ebb and flow of America’s large-scale political landscape. Represent follows…
Black and white photo from 1965 showing John Lewis and many other civil rights protestors walking over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
Film History
July, 10, 2020

“Your Vote Is Your Voice”: Best Films About Voting Rights

Sharon Knolle in Film History

The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights in a Democracy, and yet who has been allowed to vote in America has been a battle that’s been bitterly waged for decades.  Two new documentaries; John Lewis: Good…
Enrique and members of Toki Music School building with recyclable materials. From Eating Up Easter.
Interviews
May, 20, 2020

Filmmakers Show the World the Real Easter Island, a Wakeup Call with Hope

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Sergio Mata'u Rapu has spent the last 15 years shooting and producing documentaries that have aired on History Channel, Travel Channel, National Geographic, and NOVA. Based in Minnesota, a very long way from the remote southeastern Pacific, he's also likely…
The back of a man in a dimly lit editing suite as he looks over old home movies spread across three computer monitors.
Behind the Films
May, 1, 2020

Sasha Joseph Neulinger Confronts Family Trauma Head-On

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

It's been a pretty impressive run for what was someone's very first feature documentary. But then again, Rewind is no ordinary first film. After Sasha Joseph Neulinger finished film school at Montana State University, he discovered the raw materials that…
Close up of a mother and daughter hugging inside of a hospital.
Contests
April, 8, 2020

Enter to Win a Copy of “Bedlam: An Intimate Journey into America’s Mental Health Crisis”

Independent Lens in Contests

Looking for your next great read? Bedlam: An Intimate Journey into America's Mental Health Crisis by Bedlam filmmaker Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, MD, sheds light on the mental-health-care crisis in the United States. The book "has the depth of an encyclopedia…
A man with light skin tone looks at a computer in a home office alongside an Asian woman, also working at a computer.
Beyond the Films
March, 26, 2020

This Couple Finds Answers for Adopted Daughters From China

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

Brian and Long Lan Stuy are a Utah couple who have adopted three daughters from China: Meikina from DianBai, Meigon from Guangzhou, and Meilan from Luoyang. After discovering that documentation for one of their adopted children was fake, Brian and…
An Asian woman with light skin tone holds her infant child while interviewing her mother for One Child Nation.
Behind the Films
March, 25, 2020

Nanfu Wang’s Riveting Personal Story Probes Impact of One-Child Policy

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Taking risks is nothing new for Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang. Her previous documentary I Am Another You, which was a SXSW Jury Award-winner and aired on Independent Lens, involved her having to live on the streets with the homeless subject…
A Chinese woman holds an infant in her arms while sitting in a gray armchair.
Beyond the Films
February, 5, 2020

The One-Child Policy Legacy on Women and Relationships in China

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Kristal Sotamayor The one-child policy was introduced to China in 1979, written into the national constitution in 1982, and subsequently ended in 2015. Over the 36 years of the policy, entire generations have been marked by the effects of…
A Chinese woman with long hair speaks into a microphone at an event. She wears a white dress with blue and purple flowers.
Behind the Films
February, 5, 2020

Filmmakers Follow Women in China Trying to Overcome Stigma of Being Single

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Israeli filmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia have had films air on international television as well as here in the U.S. on HBO, MTV, Sundance, and PBS (Medalia has received four Emmy nominations and won a Peabody Award), and both…
A woman with medium skin tone speaks with a man with light skin tone, gray hair, and glasses inside of an office. She holds up her hand, pointing her finger at him.
Interviews
February, 3, 2020

How “Cooked” Evolved into an Investigation of the Disaster Underlying a Disaster

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Documentary filmmaker Judith Helfand is best known for her ability to take the dark worlds of chemical exposure, heedless corporate behavior and environmental injustice and make them personal, highly-charged and entertaining. Her films include The Uprising of ‘34, the Sundance award-winning…
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…
Three older men speak into microphones while recording for a radio program.
Interviews
January, 22, 2020

Finding Common Ground: The Story of an Unlikely Chicago Alliance

Craig Phillips in Interviews

It takes an incredible amount of tenacity and belief in a project to stick with it for 14 years, but that's just how long it took for Ray Santisteban to see his documentary The First Rainbow Coalition come to light.…