Behind the Films
December 18, 2024
Behind the Animated, Musical Documentary About “Race Roulette”
Independent Lens in Behind the Films
By Independent Lens Staff The sixth episode of the short docuseries History of White People in America is in the format of a catchy musical, but for a purpose: to…...
Beyond the Films
November 08, 2024
Make Art or Die? For Some Veterans Creating Art Can Heal from Trauma
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Ivonne Spinoza [Image above courtesy the artist: "Grenade Head," by Peter J Buotte, digitally-milled aluminum, detonator fuze, 2005.] Most people may be familiar with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and…...
A series of musical animations, chronicling diverse experiences of how race has helped shape American culture. These shorts provide insight into the unique lived experiences of historical figures who played a role in the evolving definitions of identity. Read More
Beyond the Films
September 18, 2024
America’s Electoral College: Six Surprising Facts About the Who and How
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Bianca Beyrouti Every four years, the U.S. Presidential election revives a similarly lively, if increasingly tense, discussion about the Electoral College, namely its function and impact. As we find…...
An insider’s look at the rise and fall of the NFT (non-fungible token) phenomenon and how technology transformed the traditional art world, for better and worse. Featuring verité footage and candid interviews with groundbreaking artists—like Beeple, Latasha Alcindor, and Loish— at the center of this phenomenon, Minted delves into the… Read More
Free for All: The Public Library tells the story of the quiet revolutionaries who made a simple idea happen. From the pioneering women behind the “Free Library Movement” to today’s librarians who service the public despite working in a contentious age of closures and book bans, meet those who created… Read More
Riddled with survivor’s guilt after his unit lost 17 men during “Operation Enduring Freedom” in Afghanistan, Marine veteran Anthony Marquez makes it his mission to reconnect with the Gold Star families of the fallen. By carving and hand-delivering a battlefield cross for each of the families affected by loss, Anthony… Read More
A wild hog hunt in the Ozarks leads to an unexpectedly vulnerable dialogue between Iranian American filmmaker Andy Sarjahani and his childhood friend Bubba as they navigate a polarized world. As their paths diverged in the increasingly anti-Middle Eastern years after 9/11, Andy’s journey of self-examination tries to… Read More
The high-security Pelican Bay prison was designed for mass-scale solitary confinement, often for a decade or more, and with little due process. In 2013, 30,000 incarcerated people went on a hunger strike that spread into a feat of unity across California prisons. The Strike follows these solitary survivors who fought… Read More
A journey to reckon with Brazil’s harsh inequality begins when filmmaker Denise Zmekhol discovers her father’s architectural masterpiece in São Paulo—a 24-story tall modernist icon known as “Pele de Vidro” (Skin of Glass)—is inhabited by hundreds of unhoused people. But after getting to know these occupants, what started as a… Read More
The Philippines’ no-holds-barred race for president in 2022 becomes the nation’s fight for its soul. Read More
At a time when many Americans question democratic institutions, One Person, One Vote? unveils the complexities of the Electoral College, the uniquely American and often misunderstood mechanism for electing a president. The documentary follows four presidential electors representing different parties in Colorado during the intense 2020 election. Read More