By Ade Adeniji Always in Season explores the history of lynching through the mysterious 2014 death of Lennon Lacy while also looking at historical reenactments of lynching, prompting some to question the value of conjuring up the past. The specter of lynching, though, has been depicted in American popular culture for decades, including in film … READ MORE

What are your own resolutions for the New Year? Or your personal hopes, dreams, and goals? We reached out to some members of the Independent Lens family — the directors behind some of our recent films — to ask them just that. Do they have 2020 visions? Read on to find inspiration in what they … READ MORE

This Hanukkah, as millions light their menorahs and rededicate themselves to their family, their faith and their communities, we look for ways to find and share joy, light, healing, and blessings. We reached out to filmmakers, authors, and film critics to learn where they’re finding inspiration this year.  Some said family, others offered a meaningful … READ MORE

Now that Independent Lens has concluded another season–and we can’t thank you enough for watching and supporting–it’s time for you to make yourself heard. Vote now for your pick in the 2018-19 Audience Award. Pick your favorite documentary from this past season’s award-winning slate of films; you can pick up to three choices. Which film will take the top prize? The deadline to vote is Tuesday, June 11 at 5 pm Pacific. READ MORE

Independent Lens is proud to announce that two of the series’ films —Dolores and The Judge — have won 2018 Peabody Awards in the Documentary category. The oldest and most prestigious award for electronic media, honoring the “most powerful, enlightening and invigorating stories in television, radio and digital media,” the Peabody Awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, … READ MORE

Just one year after RaMell Ross’ Hale County This Morning, This Evening won a Special Jury Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the filmmaker will follow his film’s television debut on PBS by awaiting the Academy Awards, where it is one of five finalists for Best Documentary Feature. Quite a journey for the photographer-teacher-turned-filmmaker, for … READ MORE

Elvis Presley is ostensibly the subject of The King, Eugene Jarecki’s expansive road movie of a documentary. The award-winning director drives Presley’s 1963 Rolls-Royce across the US, from Mississippi and Memphis to Nashville, New York, Las Vegas, Hollywood, and elsewhere, talking to historians, musicians, members of Presley’s inner circle, and everyday Americans. Elvis centers the … READ MORE

The News & Documentary Emmy Awards were presented on Monday, October 1, 2018, in a ceremony at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City, an event attended by more than 1,000 television and news media industry executives, news and documentary producers and journalists. Independent Lens was pleased to learn that … READ MORE

It’s that time of the year again: Now that Independent Lens has concluded another season, we need you to vote for the recipient of this year’s Audience Award. Yes you, the audience! Vote for your favorite documentary from 2017-2018’s award-winning slate of films, and this year you can pick from up to three choices. Which … READ MORE

Look & See: Wendell Berry’s Kentucky co-producer Nick Offerman, an actor of many an indie film and of course on TV’s Parks & Recreation, Fargo, and author of Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man’s Fundamentals for Delicious Living, as well as gifted woodworker and man of many other talents, stopped by to answer five questions for us … READ MORE

[Note: Please enjoy this guest essay on Iranian artists and censorships, in conjunction with the broadcast premiere of When God Sleeps, by artist and game creator Kurosh ValaNejad. See more on him at the end.] by Kurosh ValaNejad, guest contributor In the Islamic Republic of Iran, artistic expression is not denied.  Iranians can sing and dance … READ MORE

In celebration of Women’s History Month (every March), we focus on great recent documentaries about great women, all who forged their own path in times and places where that wasn’t expected or encouraged, especially for a woman. As director Brett Morgen told WBURG of Jane (2017), his documentary about famed researcher Jane Goodall, “This is not … READ MORE