Blog

Hand holding megaphone in the air
September, 6, 2023

Breaking the News

Independent Lens

Who decides which stories get told? A scrappy group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists buck the white male-dominated status quo, banding together to launch The 19th*, a digital news startup aiming to combat misinformation. A story of an America in…
An illustration of a red hand holding a pine sapling. A photo of a family is superimposed on the arm above the hand.
September, 6, 2023

A Thousand Pines

Independent Lens

Over the course of a grueling eight months, a crew of Oaxacan guest workers plant trees throughout the United States. This intimate portrait shows how hard it is to balance the physical demands of reforestation and extreme isolation while staying…
A small red boat powers through still water. A figure at the front of the boat holds a harpoon ready to be thrown. Below the boat, the tail of a whale appears.
September, 6, 2023

One With the Whale

Independent Lens

Hunting whales is a matter of life or death for the residents of St. Lawrence. When a shy Alaska Native teen becomes the youngest person ever to harpoon a whale for his village, his family is blindsided by thousands of…
Several women in colorful hijabs bow their heads in prayer inside a wood-paneled Islamic center in Texas.
July, 18, 2023

A Town Called Victoria

Independent Lens

When the local mosque is burned to the ground in an apparent hate crime, the town of Victoria must overcome its age-old political, racial, and economic divides to find a collective way forward. A Reel South and Independent Lens co-production.…
Two men standing outside building that says Punjabi
June, 7, 2023

Spice Road

Independent Lens

In Spice Road, a food and travel series spreading the joy of South Asian cuisine, culture, and community, actor Rupak Ginn road-trips across America’s small towns and big cities, where intrepid immigrants set up eateries as eclectic as South Asia…
Yuji Okumoto as Shu Kai Kim, Robert Downey Jr. and James Woods standing in front of prison cell bars, in True Believer
Beyond the Films
May, 25, 2023

From True Believer to The Help, How the White Gaze Has Shown Hollywood’s Shortsightedness

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

An Essay by Dana Verde [Sources and further reading listed at the end] They say hindsight is 20/20 and, historically, stories about real BIPOC characters in both mainstream film and television have had an obstructed, blurred, or blinded view—depending on…
A group of Black men and women sitting in a row, watching someone speak.
Independent Film
February, 22, 2023

6 Documentaries About the Black Experience

Independent Lens in Independent Film

Add these Independent Lens docs to your must-watch list. The Big Payback Directed by Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow Outta The Muck Directed by Ira McKinley and Bhawin Suchak The Picture Taker Directed by Phil Bertelsen When Claude Got Shot Directed by Brad…
A group of football players stand on the sidelines of a field during a game.
Behind the Films
February, 14, 2023

Beyond Football: Pahokee, Florida’s History of Black Resilience

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

This community and the surrounding area around the southern shores of Lake Okeechobee, Florida, has a rich history, but the people of Pahokee's past has often been skipped over, even by those who live there.  Ira McKinley, whose family hails…
Woman with medium skin tone and long braids sits at a table speaking energetically with others.
Behind the Films
January, 16, 2023

From Podcast to Doc: Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow on Their Reparation Collaboration

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Will the burden to make restitution for Black Americans ever be addressed, or is it too late for a reparations movement to finally happen? That question is at the center of the provocative documentary The Big Payback, which focuses especially…
A group of Black coaches and football players sit on the sidelines of a field, energized by the game they are watching.
August, 16, 2022

Outta the Muck

Independent Lens

Wade into the rich soil of Pahokee, Florida, a town on the banks of Lake Okeechobee. Beyond its football legacy, including sending over a dozen players to the NFL (like Anquan Boldin, Fred Taylor, and Rickey Jackson), the fiercely self-determined…
Film photograph of Ruby Duncan, Black welfare activist, and her two children.
August, 16, 2022

Storming Caesars Palace

Independent Lens

After losing her job as a hotel worker in Las Vegas, Ruby Duncan joined a welfare rights group of mothers who defied notions of the “welfare queen.” In a fight for guaranteed income, Ruby and other equality activists took on…
Black and white photograph of Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee walking through a crowd of reporters.
August, 16, 2022

Free Chol Soo Lee

Independent Lens

Sentenced to life for a 1973 San Francisco murder, Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee was set free after a pan-Asian solidarity movement, which included Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Americans, helped to overturn his conviction. After 10 years of fighting for…