February 17, 2021
Listen Up: How Music Was the Heart of SOUL!
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
by Nick Dedina Today we take it for granted that Black culture is mainstream American culture. But, before the age of hip-hop, cable TV, the internet, streaming, and mobile phones,…...
January 27, 2021
Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” Still Packs a Punch
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Lennlee Keep There isn't much the whole world seems to agree on, but I have yet to meet a person who doesn't love Dolly Parton. She's funny, glamorous, famous,…...
June 17, 2020
Six Unusual Instruments and How They Work
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Ade D. Adeniji Stacy Tenenbaum’s film Pipe Dreams features four young organ players competing in the prestigious Canadian International Organ Competition, held every few years in Montreal. What’s striking…...
June 17, 2020
Young Musicians Play Ancient Instrument in the “Olympics of the Pipe Organ”
Craig Phillips in Behind the Films
The Montreal-based filmmaker Stacey Tenenbaum's joyful film The Art of the Shine, which aired on PBS, took the director all over the world, from New York to Toronto, Paris to…...
February 19, 2020
Billie Holiday’s Searing “Strange Fruit” Still Has the Power to Startle
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
By Nick Dedina There are often false narratives we tell ourselves so that we can simplify, and beautify, the past and erase aspects of the present that we are uncomfortable…...
January 03, 2019
RUMBLE On: More Native American Musicians You Should Know
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
by Gregg McVicar, Host and producer of UnderCurrents on Native Voice One Rock and roll was born in the United States, and it makes sense that some of its forerunners…...
March 30, 2018
Censored Iranian Artists, Poets and Musicians Threatened with Exile
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
[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…...
March 28, 2018
Filmmaker Till Schauder Had Many Sleepless Nights Telling Shahin Najafi’s Story
Craig Phillips in Interviews
The German-born, New York-based filmmaker Till Schauder's previous film The Iran Job was about an American basketball player who went with great trepidation to play professionally in Iran, a winning…...
February 16, 2018
10 Questions with “Rat Film” Composer Dan Deacon: On Baltimore, Rats, Player Pianos and Theremins
Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films
Baltimore-based composer/musician Dan Deacon did the music for Theo Anthony's Rat Film. The film, which uses the urban rat as a way to explore a deeper story of urbanization and…...
January 30, 2018
For “Winnie”: Anti-Apartheid Songs of Protest
Independent Lens in Beyond the Films
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Miriam Makeba and Dizzy Gillespie, 1991[/caption] By Sarah Bardeen, guest contributor Modern South Africa was forged in apartheid. The struggle defined life for generations of South…...
January 03, 2018
Muscle Shoals’ Rick Hall Passes Away
Craig Phillips in Announcements
Sad news to report, that Rick Hall, the star of the Independent Lens film Muscle Shoals, has died at the age of 85 after a long illness. The Fame Studios founder,…...
October 31, 2017
Filmmaker John Scheinfeld Chases Coltrane’s Legacy
Craig Phillips in Interviews
Filmmaker John Scheinfeld is no stranger to taking on challenging subjects for documentaries. The Emmy®, Grammy® and Writers Guild Award nominee and writer/director/producer's other films include The U.S. vs. John Lennon,…...