Visit Your Local PBS Station PBS Home PBS Home Programs A-Z TV Schedules Support PBS Shop PBS Search PBS
Independent Lens
Search Indie Lens

About Program Guide Video Get Involved Classroom Your Lens Inside Indies
host credits accolades aa newsletter submissions contact



The Audience Award
Voting will start up again with the new season in October
What is the Audience Award?
What is the Audience Award? At film festivals, the award that indies covet the most is the Audience Award. After all, these non-conventional filmmakers are telling stories not for fame or fortune, but to enlighten and entertain you—the audience.

After each Independent Lens television broadcast, the audience decides how a film measures up. At the end of each season, we tally the votes and honor one special film.

Announcing the 2008 Independent Lens Audience Award Winner!


NA KAMALEI: The Men of Hula
by Lisette Marie Flanary

Following legendary teacher Robert Cazimero and the only all-male hula school in Hawaii, NA KAMALEI: The Men of Hula goes beyond deep-rooted stereotypes of "grass skirt girls" and reveals a story of Hawaiian pride through the exploration of male roles in the hula tradition—past and present.

Visit the Web site for NA KAMALEI: The Men of Hula >>


Read what viewers have to say:

“Wow, wow and WOW!!! I happened on this documentary Sunday night and was blown away.”

“As a 56-year-old man, it was very encouraging to see men of my age who refuse to be put out to pasture.”

“A master documentary.”

“What wonderful sexy men.”

“Twenty minutes after watching this film on our local PBS station (WILL-TV, Champaign/Urbana) and I STILL have tears in my eyes.”

“Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo nui loa!!!!”

Add your comments in Talkback >>

Past Audience Award Winners

The 2007 audience favorite, CHINA BLUE, awakened viewers to the human cost behind retail clothing with a rare and poignant look into the lives of Chinese garment workers.

Visit CHINA BLUE >> 		A boy wearing a hard hat, his face grimy with dust from the mines. He sits in front of a pickaxe handle. 2006’s winner, THE DEVIL’S MINER, captivated viewers with the gripping story of 14-year-old Basilio and his 12-year-old brother working in the deadly Bolivian silver mines to earn enough money to attend school.

Visit THE DEVIL'S MINER >>


A man sitting in a wheelchair holding a microphone and looking into the distance with the large white dome of the U.S. Capitol Building looming behind him. In 2005, audiences were moved by ON A ROLL, the story of Greg Smith, who, born with muscular dystrophy, has turned his physical challenges into his greatest strengths.

Visit ON A ROLL >> 		An older man dressed in a tuxedo leans against a dressing room counter and looks at his reflection. The story of one of the most distinctive vocalists of our time captured viewers’ hearts in 2004. JIMMY SCOTT: If You Only Knew was an overwhelming audience favorite.

Visit JIMMY SCOTT: If You Only Knew >>


A woman dressed in an orange wetsuit rides a wave on a surfboard. Another inspirational story made the top of the charts in 2003. Lisa Denker and Charlotte Lagarde’s HEART OF THE SEA tells the story of Hawaiian surf pioneer Rell “Kapolioka'ehukai” Sunn.

Visit HEART OF THE SEA >>

Your email address
More about the newsletter »

top
IL Home Home | About | Program Guide | Video | Get Involved | Classroom | Your Lens | Inside IndiesContact Us Get the Newsletter
Pressroom     © Independent Television Service (ITVS). All rights reserved. | PBS Privacy Policy | Credits

presented by ITVS   funded by The Corporation For Public Broadcasting Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people

with additional support from The National Endowment for the Arts the National Endowment for the Arts