Blog

hands of her two children.
August, 16, 2022

Storming Caesars Palace

Independent Lens

After losing her job as a hotel worker in Las Vegas, Ruby Duncan joined a welfare rights group of mothers who defied notions of the “welfare queen.” In a fight for guaranteed income, Ruby and other equality activists took on…
Four Indian women reporters chat together while working on a project.
Interviews
March, 15, 2022

Oscar-Nominated “Writing With Fire” Goes Inside India’s Only All-Women Newspaper

Independent Lens in Interviews

Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh, co-directors, made a long journey metaphorically and literally with their film Writing With Fire, from northern India's Uttar Pradesh state, where they worked on the film for four years, to winning awards at Sundance in…
A young man with dark skin tone sits on the stairs of a brick house.
Behind the Films
January, 7, 2022

Owning Up to the Dark History of America’s Housing Industry

Independent Lens in Behind the Films

Before stepping into film, Giorgio Angelini had quite the diverse path: After touring in indie rock bands for most of his 20s, he enrolled in the Master of Architecture program at Rice University in Houston, which happened to be right…
Woman hugging her daughter just outside prison gates
July, 2, 2021

Apart

Independent Lens

Since the beginning of the War on Drugs, the number of women in U.S. prisons has grown by over 800%. The majority are mothers. Three unforgettable formerly incarcerated mothers, imprisoned for drug-related charges, fight to overcome alienation—and a society that…
Actor Jared Leto, wearing a red beanie, lights a blow torch in the dark.
Behind the Films
January, 6, 2021

How Jared Leto and 92 Film Crews Captured 24 Hours in America

Independent Lens in Behind the Films

In some ways, you'd think Jared Leto, Oscar-winning actor, movie star, and frontman for Platinum-selling band (with his brother Shannon) 30 Seconds to Mars, would not need much of an introduction. But now you can add another hat, with a…
A skateboarder rides with an American flag flying behind them. A lens flare obscures the image slightly.
July, 24, 2020

A Day in the Life of America

Independent Lens

Director Jared Leto crafts a sweeping yet intimate cross-section of America shot on a single July 4th in 2017 with 92 film crews fanning out across each of the United States and Puerto Rico to capture A Day in the…
Illustration of a side profile of a human head filled in with a black and white image of a tree with many wiry-looking branches.
Beyond the Films
April, 11, 2020

Rural Perspective on Mental Health Care in a Time of Crisis

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

by Rooney Elmi Kenneth Paul Rosenberg MD’s Bedlam profiles of one of the most pervasive and stigmatized public health crises: mental illness. Taking its titular inspiration from the infamous English “madhouse” founded in the 13th Century (and inspiring Rosenberg’s book…
Headshot of producer/director Kenneth Rosenberg, a man with light skin tone and gray hair and beard.
Beyond the Films
April, 8, 2020

“My Family’s Tragedy Is an American Tragedy”: Bedlam Filmmaker’s Journey to Depict Mental Health Crisis

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

In his film Bedlam, Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, MD follows the lives of three patients who find themselves with a chronic lack of institutional support, while he also weaves in his own story of how the system failed his late sister,…
Close up of a mother and daughter hugging inside of a hospital.
Contests
April, 8, 2020

Enter to Win a Copy of “Bedlam: An Intimate Journey into America’s Mental Health Crisis”

Independent Lens in Contests

Looking for your next great read? Bedlam: An Intimate Journey into America's Mental Health Crisis by Bedlam filmmaker Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, MD, sheds light on the mental-health-care crisis in the United States. The book "has the depth of an encyclopedia…
A woman with medium skin tone speaks with a man with light skin tone, gray hair, and glasses inside of an office. She holds up her hand, pointing her finger at him.
Interviews
February, 3, 2020

How “Cooked” Evolved into an Investigation of the Disaster Underlying a Disaster

Independent Lens in Interviews

Documentary filmmaker Judith Helfand is best known for her ability to take the dark worlds of chemical exposure, heedless corporate behavior and environmental injustice and make them personal, highly-charged and entertaining. Her films include The Uprising of ‘34, the Sundance award-winning…
Three older men speak into microphones while recording for a radio program.
Interviews
January, 22, 2020

Finding Common Ground: The Story of an Unlikely Chicago Alliance

Independent Lens in Interviews

It takes an incredible amount of tenacity and belief in a project to stick with it for 14 years, but that's just how long it took for Ray Santisteban to see his documentary The First Rainbow Coalition come to light.…
A woman with dark skin tone, wearing a bandana and glasses, sits in the back of a van that's outfitted with a bed and water system.
January, 2, 2020

American Nomads

Independent Lens

As the cost of living rises across the United States, so too is the number of people who dwell in their vehicles. Some travel across the country looking for work and to fulfill the American Dream. Others never want to…