What are YOU watching to provide comfort during these trying times? Filmmakers, artists, critics and writers chimed in with their personal favorite shows and films to watch when in dire need of checking out and calming down, which, let’s face it, is pretty commonly needed these days.  See what they came up with below.

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

By Brooke Shelby Biggs We nonfiction nerds who are compulsive documentary watchers are usually also public radio listeners and magazine readers. Who among us doesn’t have a closet full of tote bags attesting to this? And, if you’re like me, all of this means we’re suckers for podcasts. Since the moment I first discovered Radiolab … READ MORE

Keith Maitland’s animated documentary TOWER has left critics and awards-voting bodies alike flummoxed as to how best to categorize it. This is a visionary work, no doubt, that uses voice-actors and vintage audio to reconstruct what happened back in 1966 when a sniper shot dozens of people on the campus of University of Texas. The rotoscopic … READ MORE

The critics have spoken. And they’re saying… a lot of different things, but when it comes to picking the best documentary films of the year there is plenty of common ground. We’ve surveyed a wide variety of critics and publications to gather the documentaries they thought were the best of 2014 [highlighting Independent Lens films … READ MORE

In honor of our nation’s veterans on Veteran’s Day, we’ve compiled a list of a few Independent Lens films that centered around American soldiers. While the day was initially intended to honor soldiers who fought in WWI (timed with the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with … READ MORE

June is LGBT Pride Month and we honor the occasion by asking a few filmmakers who’ve made documentaries for Independent Lens to contribute their own picks for the gay-themed films (features or docs) that affected them most profoundly.

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Looking back at the 2014 broadcast television premiere of Independent Lens‘ Medora, not to mention that we’re in the midst of NCAA basketball “March Madness,” we have the sport of James Naismith firmly on our minds. While Medora is about much, much more than high school basketball — “The film transcends the underdog sports doc,” wrote John Fink in The Film … READ MORE

As it’s Academy Award time again, where one feature documentary out of five worthy finalists is chosen as Best, it seemed fitting to take a trip down memory lane for that Oscar category in particular. In honor of the fact that there have been 86 of these ceremonies now, I’ve created a few new, slightly … READ MORE

It was a good year for documentaries. Maybe we say that every year, but 2013 felt particularly strong. How can anyone keep track of all the excellent non-fiction films you need to see (and check off the ones you’ve already seen)? By using this handy-dandy List of the Lists, as it were. We’ve collected many … READ MORE

Thanks to Ryan Perry on Uproxx for compiling this list of the 25 Best Documentaries available to stream on Netflix, especially since [horn tooting sound] 11 of them are Independent Lens films and/or ITVS-funded films. Here are the Independent Lens films on their list, with links to our site (if you don’t see these films … READ MORE

In honor of this week’s premiere of Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey, Independent Lens compiled a list of the many other fine music documentaries that IL has produced in recent years, and then added a few more of our favorite music docs in general. What are some of your own picks for the best musically-inclined films?

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