Blog

man with tattoos sitting in front of make shift wooden crosses with american flags on them
July, 18, 2024

Make Peace or Die: Honor the Fallen

Independent Lens

Riddled with survivor's guilt after his unit lost 17 men during "Operation Enduring Freedom" in Afghanistan, Marine veteran Anthony Marquez makes it his mission to reconnect with the Gold Star families of the fallen. By carving and hand-delivering a battlefield…
Hunting knife on a table with a spoon of saffron below it
July, 18, 2024

Wild Hogs and Saffron

Independent Lens

A wild hog hunt in the Ozarks leads to an unexpectedly vulnerable dialogue between Iranian American filmmaker Andy Sarjahani and his childhood friend Bubba as they navigate a polarized world. As their paths diverged in the increasingly anti-Middle Eastern years…
Photograph of a man's back. He is sitting on the bottom bunk in a dark prison cell. Near him is a microwave, a few cups strewn about, and a crumpled up piece of paper.
July, 3, 2024

The Strike

Independent Lens

The high-security Pelican Bay prison was designed for mass-scale solitary confinement, often for a decade or more, and with little due process. In 2013, 30,000 incarcerated people went on a hunger strike that spread into a feat of unity across…
Photograph of a man and woman looking at a cityscape out of floor-to-ceiling windows covered in graffiti. One of the windows is broken and glass is scattered along the floor.
July, 3, 2024

Skin of Glass

Independent Lens

A journey to reckon with Brazil’s harsh inequality begins when filmmaker Denise Zmekhol discovers her father’s architectural masterpiece in São Paulo—a 24-story tall modernist icon known as “Pele de Vidro” (Skin of Glass)—is inhabited by hundreds of unhoused people. But…
Two womens faces in pink newspaper style
June, 26, 2024

And So It Begins

Independent Lens

And So It Begins follows the Philippines’ turbulent 2022 presidential race, with the son of ousted former dictator Ferdinand Marcos waging a combative social media campaign against his more progressive opponent, incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo. Following it all is…
Illustration of six hands each taking a slice of a round "I Voted" sticker.
June, 26, 2024

One Person, One Vote?

Independent Lens

At a time when many Americans question democratic institutions, One Person, One Vote? unveils the complexities of the Electoral College, the uniquely American and often misunderstood mechanism for electing a president. The documentary follows four presidential electors representing different parties…
A man with medium-dark skin tone and a large black mustache poses with a shovel in a sparse forest. He wears a thick sweatshirt, hat, and knee-high boots.
Beyond the Films
April, 1, 2024

Temporary Farm Workers by the Numbers: How Do They Make Ends Meet?

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Ivonne Spinoza From working hard jobs for extremely low wages to being separated from their families for up to 10 months at a time, the sacrifices and challenges seem never-ending for temporary workers in the U.S.  In the documentary…
A photograph of a woman with medium-dark skin tone and short braids is superimposed over a government building at night.
January, 31, 2024

holding bodies: a justice anthology

Independent Lens

The three-part holding bodies: a justice anthology uses personal experiences of arrest, pretrial detention, and incarceration to reconsider the intention, design, and process of America’s justice system.
The Roh family trek through the jungle at night.
Beyond the Films
January, 5, 2024

What Happens to Your Family When You Escape North Korea, and Other Harrowing Tales from Beyond Utopia

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

The harrowing, riveting documentary Beyond Utopia, captures what life is like for refugees after escaping North Korea. What happens to the family you left behind? How hard is it to adjust to life in a modern, alien land? Emmy Award-nominated…
Illustration of a transparent red star laid over a military camp. Three adults and two children are shown fleeing atop the red star.
November, 13, 2023

Beyond Utopia

Independent Lens

They grew up believing their land was paradise. Now, they risk everything in escaping it. In an unforgettable documentary, follow families on a treacherous journey to defect from their homeland of North Korea, as the threat of severe punishment and…
A man in a US military uniform with dark skin tone stands beside a woman with medium skin tone wearing a denim jacket and white hijab. Other soldiers stand in the background and foreground.
Beyond the Films
November, 6, 2023

The Complex Role and Diverse Array of Chaplains in the Military

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Ivonne Spinoza When you hear the term chaplain, if you're not in the military, what usually comes to mind? It could be a pop culture reference, like Father Mulcahy in M*A*S*H*, or prison chaplains in a movie with a…
A child with medium skin tone and dark hair, looking downcast, sits with his arms and head resting on a table full of food.
Behind the Films
September, 25, 2023

“Your Story Makes You Strong”: Sansón, an Incarcerated Man, Watches His Life as Documentary Reenactment

Independent Lens in Behind the Films

By Craig Phillips with Rodrigo Reyes and Sansón & Me team  The life story of a young man serving life in prison for murder, Sansón and Me is told through dramatic re-creations—featuring members of Sansón's own family as actors—out of…