Blog

A black and white photo of Billie Holiday singing mid-note.
Beyond the Films
February, 19, 2020

Billie Holiday’s Searing “Strange Fruit” Still Has the Power to Startle

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Nick Dedina There are often false narratives we tell ourselves so that we can simplify, and beautify, the past and erase aspects of the present that we are uncomfortable with. Take the view that the olden times glowed with…
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…
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.…
A man with dark skin tone holds a phone to his ear. He looks anxious.
Behind the Films
January, 14, 2020

Filmmaker Accepts the Call to Tell Story of a Father and Son Divided

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

Filmmaker Eunice Lau, who is originally from Singapore (and boy does she have a story to tell you here about the experience of showing her film back home), was once a journalist at Al Jazeera Network. She has a penchant…
A woman with dark skin tone, wearing a bandana and glasses, sits in the back of a van that's outfitted with a bed and water system.
January, 2, 2020

American Nomads

Independent Lens

As the cost of living rises across the United States, so too is the number of people who dwell in their vehicles. Some travel across the country looking for work and to fulfill the American Dream. Others never want to…
Joe Bifelt holding his lead dog, Happy, before the start of the 2015 Open North American sled dog race, from ATTLA
Behind the Films
December, 11, 2019

Still Mushing: An Update from Joe, George Attla’s Grandnephew

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

We are pleased that we could get Joe Bifelt, the grandnephew of legendary dogsled racer George Attla, to send us an update on his life since the film about George's life, ATTLA, ended. George may have technically been Joe's great…
An elderly George Attla rides a snowmobile
Interviews
December, 9, 2019

Telling the Incredible True Story of a Dogsledding Legend

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Filmmaker Catharine Axley seeks stories of empowerment through subjects that defy expectations, and the lesser-known but remarkable story of George Attla certainly qualifies. Axley's film ATTLA, which won Best Feature Documentary at the American Indian Film Festival, looks at the charismatic Alaska Native…
The three chefs from alter-NATIVE: Kitchen
November, 15, 2019

alter-NATIVE: Kitchen

Independent Lens

Purveyors of America’s Indigenous foods are forging a resurgence of native dishes that satisfy a new generation hungering for insight and culinary delight. Meet three talented young Indigenous chefs -- Brian Yazzie, a Navajo/Diné chef originally from Arizona, now based…
Lance Gumbs at the Shinnecock Pow Wow
Beyond the Films
November, 15, 2019

For Tribal Communities, Battle Over Land Is Nothing New

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Jordan Dresser Sometimes, two people can look out of the same window and see two very different things.  This outlook sprang to my mind while watching Treva Wurmfeld’s Conscience Point, which tells the story of the Shinnecock Indian Nation's fight to…
Jewel Wilson
November, 14, 2019

Jewel’s Hunt

Independent Lens

Sixteen-year-old Jewel Wilson is the next generation in a long line of prolific Inupiat subsistence hunters in Unalakleet, Alaska. Her ability to hunt moose is hindered by two pressing issues – scarce wildlife and the pressures of high school life.…
Shinnecock Tribal trustee Lance Gumps at the US Open
Interviews
November, 14, 2019

In Opulent Hamptons Filmmaker Asks, Whose Land Is it Anyway?

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Treva Wurmfeld was named one Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film a few years back and made her mark first with her festival award-winning film Shepard and Dark about iconic American playwright Sam Shepard's lifelong friendship with reclusive writer…
Phillip Morris hugs his wife when reunited at Minneapolis airport.
Interviews
November, 6, 2019

Following the Journey of Interpreters We Left Behind

Craig Phillips in Interviews

Filmmakers Andrés Caballero and Sofian Khan's previous feature-length collaboration Gaucho del Norte, which made its broadcast premiere on public television’s America ReFramed series, followed the journey of a Patagonian immigrant sheepherder recruited to work in the American West. With The Interpreters, the duo took…