Blog

Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson poses with his husband, Mark.
October, 29, 2012

Love Free or Die

Independent Lens

In 2003, Gene Robinson became the first openly gay priest in a committed same-sex relationship to be ordained a bishop in any Christian denomination. But his consecration has brought the Episcopal Church in the United States to the brink of…
Highway sign in rural countryside reads "Janesville Population 63,575."
October, 8, 2012

As Goes Janesville

Independent Lens

Janesville, Wisconsin is not unlike a lot of Midwestern blue-collar, middle-class towns in America. Since the economy began its nosedive in 2008, Janesville residents, civic leaders, and businesses have been plunged into an extended cycle of hardship and uncertainty. And…
Where Are They Now?
October, 5, 2012

In Pictures: Janesville’s Industrial Rollercoaster, 1849-2008

826chi in Where Are They Now?

As we witness in As Goes Janesville, when the General Motors plant in Janesville, Wisconsin closed for good in 2008, the town found itself in the midst of an identity crisis. Of course, Janesville is not entirely exceptional in this…
Smiling women in colorful clothing.
October, 1, 2012

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Independent Lens

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide is a four-hour PBS primetime documentary film and national broadcast event inspired by the widely acclaimed book of the same name by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Filmed in 10…
Archival photo of ACT UP AIDS activists embracing during a protest.
June, 14, 2012

We Were Here

Independent Lens

We Were Here documents the arrival in San Francisco of what was then called the "Gay Plague" in the early 1980s. It illuminates the profound personal and community issues raised by the AIDS epidemic, as well as the broad political…
Angela Davis with Afro and orange sweater.
February, 9, 2012

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

Independent Lens

For three decades, the film canisters sat undisturbed in a cellar beneath the Swedish National Broadcasting Company. Inside was roll after roll of startlingly fresh and candid 16mm footage shot in the 1960s and 1970s in the United States, all…
Daisy Bates marches with a crowd of supporters carrying signs of support.
February, 2, 2012

Daisy Bates

Independent Lens

In 1957, Daisy Bates became a household name when she fought for the right of nine black students to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Bates's public support culminated in a constitutional crisis — pitting a…
Uncategorized
January, 30, 2012

Filmmaker Discusses Daisy Bates and Black History Month

826chi in Uncategorized

Independent Lens is kicking off Black History Month this week with Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock. We caught up with filmmaker Sharon La Cruise to talk about how she came to the project, and why so many people…
Neslon Mandela and Oliver Tambo smile and wave.
January, 12, 2012

Have You Heard From Johannesburg

Independent Lens

Have You Heard From Johannesburg is a five-part chronicle, airing over three weeks, of the history of the global anti-apartheid movement that took on South Africa’s entrenched apartheid regime and its international supporters who considered South Africa an ally in…
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,…
Young boy raises his arms against a golden sunset.
June, 14, 2011

Two Spirits

Independent Lens

Two Spirits interweaves the tragic story of a mother’s loss of her son with a revealing look at the largely unknown history of a time when the world wasn’t simply divided into male and female and many Native American cultures…
March, 29, 2011

Pushing the Elephant

Independent Lens

In the late 1990s, Rose Mapendo was imprisoned with her family during violence that engulfed the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her harrowing experience included the nighttime arrest of her entire family by government agents, the execution of her husband, the…