Blog

George Clinton of Parliament Funkadelic
October, 11, 2005

Parliament Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove

Independent Lens

Known to its legions of fans simply as P-Funk, Parliament Funkadelic has had a profound impact on the development of contemporary music, aesthetics and culture. Parliament Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove chronicles the unique alchemy of the musical influences that…
June, 14, 2005

Brother to Brother

Independent Lens

This film invokes the glory days of the Harlem Renaissance through the memories of Bruce Nugent (Robinson), who co-founded the revolutionary literary journal Fire!! with legendary authors Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Wallace Thurman.
May, 31, 2005

Double Dare

Independent Lens

As the stuntwomen for Wonder Woman and Xena: Warrior Princess, Jeannie Epper and Zoë Bell are Hollywood’s anonymous heroes, taking the hits that make actors into stars. Double Dare explores the lives of Epper and Bell as they face the…
April, 26, 2005

End of the Century: The Ramones

Independent Lens

In 1974, the New York City music scene was shocked into consciousness by the violently new sound of a band from Queens: The Ramones. Playing in a seedy Bowery bar to a small group of fellow struggling musicians, the band…
Milt Hinton with a stand-up bass
April, 12, 2005

Keeping Time: The Life, Music, and Photographs of Milt Hinton

Independent Lens

During his seven-decade-long career, legendary bassist Milt Hinton performed with nearly every major jazz artist alive, touring with Cab Calloway and performing with Aretha Franklin. Keeping Time: The Life, Music, and Photographs of Milt Hinton is a loving portrait of this…
April, 5, 2005

A Lion’s Trail

Independent Lens

In the 1920s, Zulu singer Solomon Linda composed "Mbube," a hit melody in his native South Africa. Decades later, it skyrocketed to the top of the international pop charts as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
November, 9, 2004

Polka Time

Independent Lens

Each July for more than 30 years, polka lovers from around the United States have descended on the tiny rural town of Gibbon, Minnesota for the Gibbon Polka Fest.
Portrait of Dr. Seuss.
October, 26, 2004

The Political Dr. Seuss

Independent Lens

One of Theodor Geisel’s superior officers during World War II described him in an evaluation as a “personable zealot.” An oxymoron? Perhaps. But it also provides a fitting description of the man who was better known as Dr. Seuss, the…
June, 15, 2004

The Amasong Chorus: Singing Out

Independent Lens

When lesbian music student Kristina Boerger moved to a small college town, she didn't find a ready-made community. So she created one around choral singing. Soon, what had initially been a ragtag group of volunteer vocalists became an award-winning recording…
A sumo wrestler stares into the camera
June, 8, 2004

Sumo East and West

Independent Lens

American competitors are rapidly changing the ancient Japanese sport of sumo. Is this a form of cultural appropriation, or merely a form of cultural appreciation? Four years in the making, Sumo East and West offers a rare opportunity to go…
June, 1, 2004

Cosmopolitan

Independent Lens

A suddenly single bachelor, an oddly attractive neighbor, and a popular women’s magazine are the ingredients in this delicious romance that pays homage to classic Bollywood cinema while spinning a modern love story that is uniquely its own. From the…
May, 4, 2004

One Night at the Grand Star

Independent Lens

In Los Angeles, there's only one place where you can celebrate the synchronicity of an old-school Chinatown establishment, classic jazz, DJ culture, and the underground dance scene: the Grand Star.