Blog

A man and woman wearing gas masks stand outside a derelict home on a snowy street in Detroit.
May, 27, 2013

Detropia

Independent Lens

Detroit was the birthplace of the middle class, an industrial utopia where anyone who worked hard enough could experience the American dream. But today, the Motor City, which has essentially been taken over by the state of Michigan, is on…
A female soldier wearing military fatigues looks over her shoulder into the camera.
May, 13, 2013

The Invisible War

Independent Lens

The Invisible War is a groundbreaking investigative documentary about one of America’s most shameful and best kept secrets: the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. The film, a nominee for the 2013 Academy Awards, paints a startling picture of…
April, 29, 2013

The Undocumented

Independent Lens

In the past 15 years, more than 2,000 dead migrants have been found in the vast borderlands between Sonora, Mexico and Tucson, Arizona. The film tells the story of border crossers who perished while trying to cross an unforgiving desert…
Inmates gather in a holding cell, seen through a viewing slot in a secure metal door.
April, 8, 2013

The House I Live In

Independent Lens

For the past 40 years, the war on drugs has resulted in more than 45 million arrests, $1 trillion dollars in government spending, and America’s role as the world’s largest jailer. Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer, and…
Filmmaker Alison Klayman with Ai Weiwei
Uncategorized
February, 21, 2013

Alison Klayman on Filming Ai Weiwei

Independent Lens in Uncategorized

We sat down with filmmaker Alison Klayman to talk about the joys and challenges of filming China's most famous artist and dissident, Ai Weiwei. Her film, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. What impact do you hope this film will have? I…
February, 18, 2013

The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights

Independent Lens

Whitney Young was one of the most powerful, controversial, and largely forgotten leaders of the civil rights movement, who took the fight directly to the powerful white elite, gaining allies in business and government, including three presidents.
Interviews
February, 15, 2013

Powerbroker Filmmaker Bonnie Boswell on How Her Youth Shaped Her Film

Independent Lens in Interviews

Filmmaker Bonnie Boswell has an unusually close tie to her film, The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights. Whitney Young, Jr., was her uncle, and his parents helped raise her. We sat down with Boswell to learn more about…
Beyond the Films
January, 10, 2013

‘Green Book’ Helped Keep African Americans Safe on the Road

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

In Soul Food Junkies, filmmaker Byron Hurt briefly describes what it used to be like for African Americans to travel in the United States. He talks about how blacks would take along boxed lunches in order to avoid being turned away…
Nutayunean tribe
Lists
November, 21, 2012

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with 8 Documentaries

Independent Lens in Lists

November is Native American Heritage Month, but that wasn’t always the case. At one point, it was a single day to honor Native American history, and before that, there was no official government recognition at all. The history of the…
November, 5, 2012

Solar Mamas

Independent Lens

Jordanian wife and mother Rafea is leaving home for the first time to attend a college in India that is training rural women to become solar energy engineers. Once there, she will join women like her from the developing world…
Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson poses with his husband, Mark.
October, 29, 2012

Love Free or Die

Independent Lens

In 2003, Gene Robinson became the first openly gay priest in a committed same-sex relationship to be ordained a bishop in any Christian denomination. But his consecration has brought the Episcopal Church in the United States to the brink of…
Highway sign in rural countryside reads "Janesville Population 63,575."
October, 8, 2012

As Goes Janesville

Independent Lens

Janesville, Wisconsin is not unlike a lot of Midwestern blue-collar, middle-class towns in America. Since the economy began its nosedive in 2008, Janesville residents, civic leaders, and businesses have been plunged into an extended cycle of hardship and uncertainty. And…