Best Documentary Nominees Visit Talk of the Nation

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

Filmmakers Danfung Dennis (Hell and Back Again) and Marshall Curry (If A Tree Falls) both appeared on NPR’s Talk of the Nation this week to discuss their respective films — both of which are nominees for Best Documentary Feature. Listen to the interviews with host Neal Conan, below:

Hell and Back Again
“After so many years of war, society’s become numb to pictures of conflict, and so I felt like I had to move into a new medium to try to shake people from their indifference.” — Danfung Dennis on Hell and Back Again (the documentary will air May 24 and on Memorial Day on Independent Lens) LISTEN TO FULL INTERVIEW HERE.


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Black History Month? There’s an App for That!

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

Shukree Tilghman, the director of the Independent Lens film More Than a Month, speaks with Hari Sreenivasen from PBS NewsHour about the special interactive iPhone app More Than a Mapp that he and Ember Media have developed to track and showcase important African American historical sites.

Much like the apps that help you find a nearby cup of coffee or ATM, the More Than A Mapp (MTAM) iPhone and iPad app allows users to locate, experience, and contribute to African American History through an interactive map. Designed to show that this aspect of American history exists all around us, even in months outside of February, this free application highlights relevant locations in one’s immediate vicinity and gives users the ability to upload their own. Download More Than A Mapp here.

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The Island President Appears on Morning Edition After Apparent Coup

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed appeared on Morning Edition this week. Nasheed was forced to resign earlier this month in what he referred to as a coup, a claim his successor denies. He is featured in the documentary The Island President, which will air next season on Independent Lens.

Listen to NPR’s Morning Edition interview after the jump:
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Guess the Oscars with Independent Lens

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

It’s Academy Awards time again, and once more Independent Lens has a horse in this race! Our upcoming film Hell and Back Again, by Danfung Dennis, is one of the five nominees for Best Documentary Feature. Hell and Back Again airs on May 24, 2012 at 10 PM and on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012, both nights at 10 PM on Independent Lens.

We wanted to do something fun in anticipation of Sunday’s festivities, so we whipped up a quick little ballot for you to fill out and submit, to see how many of you can guess the outcome in several major categories. We’ll accept ballot entries (one per user, please!) up until 5 PM PST on Sunday, February 26, 2012. We’ll randomly select five entries from among the highest scores for personal glory and some special surprises.

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Join Independent Lens and PBS NewsHour for a Social Screening of More Than a Month

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

The day after the PBS broadcast premiere of More Than a Month on Independent Lens, join us for a social screening of the film at 12PM PT / 3PM ET on Friday, February 17. Filmmaker Shukree Tighlman will participate in the event, which is being produced in partnership with our friends at PBS NewsHour. Follow this link to participate in the screening.

The screening will take place exclusively online; you can join for free by signing in with Facebook (or directly on the site) and interact with other viewers and filmmaker Shukree Tlighman while you watch the film. Viewers can comment, ask questions, take polls, and even express their feelings about what they’re watching through a variety of tools on the site.

This is an entirely new way we’re offering some of our documentary films, and all of us are looking forward to an open, thoughtful conversation on Black History Month!

Find more information or join Friday’s screening here.

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Shukree Tilghman Wants to End (the Way We Think About) Black History Month

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

Shukree Hassan Tilghman

Shukree Tilghman saw Morgan Freeman on 60 Minutes in 2006 say that he believed Black History Month shouldn’t exist, because it was insulting to relegate an entire race’s history to just one month. It resonated with the young man, so much so that after film school, Tilghman was determined to set out to find out the truth about Black History Month, even if it meant fielding and considering the inevitable questions such as “Why isn’t there a White History Month?” We asked him about the resulting film More Than a Month — which premieres on February 16 on Independent Lens at 10 PM (check local listings) — and how he managed to take a controversial racial topic and make it funny and accessible to such a large audience.

What impact do you hope More Than a Month will have?
That Americans will question why black history is taught as if it is somehow separate from American history. I hope as a country, we can imagine an America where Black History Month isn’t necessary.

What led you to make this film?
A growing feeling that African Americans continue to be seen as “Other Americans.” Watching how folks were treated during Hurricane Katrina and listening to pundits refer to those victims as refugees intensified that notion. I thought that this ideal of “other” is reinforced in society by things like Black History Month. That, combined with the new idea that we live in a “post-racial” America, led to an interest in exploring these themes.
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Talib Kweli Celebrates Black History Month

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

American visionary Talib Kweli, who appears in The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, has a message for PBS viewers this month.

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Lioness Filmmakers Respond to Pentagon Announcement

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers

Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers

On February 9th, 2012, the Pentagon unveiled plans to allow women to serve in jobs that would put them closer to the front lines but still block them from all-male infantry, armor, and special-operation units. Although represented by the Pentagon as “the beginning, not the end, of a process,” this current action does little more than bring policy in line with a reality that has existed for American servicewomen in Iraq and Afghanistan for the last decade.

As the women support soldiers profiled in our documentary Lioness (which aired on Independent Lens in 2009) reveal, they were being “attached” to all-male army infantry units as early as 2003 as part of an ad-hoc program called Team Lioness. While we are gratified that our film has played a small role in focusing attention on the disconnect between policy and reality that existed, we believe that for women in service to have equal opportunities to contribute and advance and not be viewed as 2nd class soldiers, all institutional barriers need to be removed so full gender parity can be achieved.

— Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers
Directors, Lioness
www.lionessthefilm.com

CLick through for video clips from the announcement, the filmmakers, and the Lioness trailer.
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Lioness Impact Continues: Pentagon to Change Women in Combat Rules

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

LionessNews today that the Pentagon plans to change some of its long-standing rules on women in combat, to reflect the reality that the ban currently in place does not represent the reality on the battlefield. Lioness, a film that influenced this policy change, aired on Independent Lens in 2008 (and was rebroadcast in December 2011).

In 2009, The Center for Social Media said: “Lioness shows how a documentary positioned at the centerpiece of a strategic outreach campaign can put an issue on the public agenda and have a direct impact on public policy.” A recommendation included in the The National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2010 was the direct result of a March 31, 2009 screening and events surrounding the film on Capitol Hill, which was supported by key members of Congress. The insert was called “Recognizing Service Women Who Have Participated as ‘Lionesses’ During Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Watch the trailer for Lioness here:

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The Island President Ousted — Filmmakers Respond

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

ZThe Island President posterThe Island President, directed by Jon Shenk and produced by Bonni Cohen and Richard Berge, debuted at Sundance just two weeks ago. We told you then how thrilled we were that the film will be on Independent Lens next season. The filmmakers are keeping us updated on events in the Maldives as the subject of the film, Mohamed Nasheed, was forced to resign in a military coup that later turned violent in the streets. We’re reposting the filmmakers’ statement here, and will keep you updated on the situation as it unfolds.

Yesterday morning we woke up to the shocking news that President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives had resigned his office under duress. According to news reports and local sources, Nasheed faced the choice of using the military to quell a violent demonstration or stepping down to avoid bloodshed. In line with his long history of peaceful activism, he chose the latter.
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