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INDEPENDENT LENS

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Airing weekly on PBS, the five-time Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens is an independent film festival in your living room. Each week we bring you another original documentary film, each made by one of the best independent filmmakers working today.

This season, Independent Lens returns with 22 independent films that will transport you and challenge you to experience universal human themes from unique perspectives. We will delve into issues emerging from the economic crisis in America, from job loss to wealth disparity; examine the origins of soul food, its importance in African American culture, and its serious health implications; we will examine a military culture in which female soldiers are sexually assaulted at a terrifying rate, and their attackers often left unpunished; we



Latest Articles About Independent Lens on PBS

Mosaic Theater Company to Present Workshop of POSTMORTEM Photo Mosaic Theater Company to Present Workshop of POSTMORTEM
by Chloe Rabinowitz - August 13, 2024

Mosaic Theater Company will present a workshop for POSTMORTEM, a new play that combines true crime with family drama to tell a story about one woman’s reckoning with her difficult childhood. Learn how to purchase tickets....


Iranian Director Massoud Bakhshi & 76 DAYS Director Hao Wu Up Next On Tom Needham's S Photo Iranian Director Massoud Bakhshi & 76 DAYS Director Hao Wu Up Next On Tom Needham's SOUNDS OF FILM
by A.A. Cristi - December 08, 2020

Hau Wu, the director of 76 DAYS, and Massoud Bakshi, the director of YALDA: A NIGHT OF FORGIVENESS, are Tom Needham's exclusive guests this Thursday on THE SOUNDS OF FILM. ...


Sundance Institute Names 2021 Momentum Fellows Photo Sundance Institute Names 2021 Momentum Fellows
by Sarah Jae Leiber - November 23, 2020

Sundance Institute announced today the third class of the Momentum Fellowship, a full-year program of deep, customized creative and professional support for mid-career writers and directors from underrepresented communities who are poised to take the next step in their careers in fiction and documen...


INDEPENDENT LENS to Launch New season of Indie Lens Pop-Up Featuring Over 100 Screeni Photo INDEPENDENT LENS to Launch New season of Indie Lens Pop-Up Featuring Over 100 Screenings
by Chloe Rabinowitz - December 12, 2024

INDEPENDENT LENS is launching the new season of Indie Lens Pop-Up, the long-running screening series that brings people together for community-driven conversations around its thought-provoking documentaries. Learn more! ...


WRESTLE Premieres on Independent Lens This May Photo WRESTLE Premieres on Independent Lens This May
by Tori Hartshorn - April 16, 2019

Go inside the lives of four members of the high school wrestling team at Huntsville's J.O. Johnson High School, a longstanding entry on Alabama's list of failing schools. Teammates Jailen, Jamario, Teague, and Jaquan face challenges far beyond a shot at the state championship: splintered families, d...


THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN, COMPANY & More Nominated for 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Award Photo THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN, COMPANY & More Nominated for 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards
by Chloe Rabinowitz - January 19, 2022

GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today announced the nominees for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. RuPaul's Drag Race Season 13 finalist Gottmik announced nominees in select GLAAD Media Awards categories live via GLAAD’...


'TIL KINGDOM COME Filmmakers Talk Trump, Netanyahu & Religion On Tom Needham's SOUNDS Photo 'TIL KINGDOM COME Filmmakers Talk Trump, Netanyahu & Religion On Tom Needham's SOUNDS OF FILM
by A.A. Cristi - February 22, 2021

'TIL KINGDOM COME director Maya Zinshtein and producer Abraham 'Abie' Troen are Tom Needham's special guests on the next SOUNDS OF FILM. ...


PBS Announces American Masters Documentary on Marian Anderson Photo PBS Announces American Masters Documentary on Marian Anderson
by Kaitlin Milligan - May 13, 2020

Today, THIRTEEN's American Masters series and Philip Gittelman Productions, in association with Black Public Media, announced a new documentary on contralto Marian Anderson (1897-1993) in production for PBS....


STORM LAKE Will Screen at the Majestic Theatre Photo STORM LAKE Will Screen at the Majestic Theatre
by Stephi Wild - October 15, 2021

Storm Lake, the new documentary film about an independent newspaper’s fight to serve their small Iowa community, will be shown at Gettysburg College’s Majestic Theater on Sunday, November 14 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $9 each and are now on sale at the Majestic Theater Box Office, 25 Carlisle St., Gettys...


Netflix to Release AMERICAN FACTORY on August 21 Photo Netflix to Release AMERICAN FACTORY on August 21
by Kaitlin Milligan - June 26, 2019

American Factory will be released globally on Netflix August 21, 2019. American Factory is a Netflix Original Documentary Presented by Higher Ground Productions and Participant Media....


Liz Callaway, Sierra Boggess, Kelli O'Hara, WRITE OUT LOUD and More Announced for Sep Photo Liz Callaway, Sierra Boggess, Kelli O'Hara, WRITE OUT LOUD and More Announced for September at Feinstein's/54 Below
by Chloe Rabinowitz - September 03, 2021

Next month, FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club & Private Event Destination, will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond....


PEABODY AWARDS Announces 2021 Nominees Photo PEABODY AWARDS Announces 2021 Nominees
by Sarah Jae Leiber - May 04, 2021

The nominees were chosen by a unanimous vote of 19 jurors from over 1,300 entries from television, podcasts/radio and the web in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service and multimedia programming....


Filmmaker Vikram Gandhi Talks Tekashi 6ix9ine Movie On Tom Needham's SOUNDS OF FILM Photo Filmmaker Vikram Gandhi Talks Tekashi 6ix9ine Movie On Tom Needham's SOUNDS OF FILM
by A.A. Cristi - November 24, 2020

69: THE SAGA OF DANNY HERNANDEZ director, Vikram Gandhi, and BELLY OF THE BEAST director, Erika Cohn, are Tom Needham's special guests this Thursday on THE SOUNDS OF FILM. ...


Sundance Institute Announces 2020 Directors & Screenwriters Lab Fellows Photo Sundance Institute Announces 2020 Directors & Screenwriters Lab Fellows
by Kaitlin Milligan - May 28, 2020

11 independent filmmakers developing 10 projects have been selected for the 2020 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs, reimagined and expressed digitally this year on Sundance Co//ab....


Richard Skipper Celebrates Anastasia Barzee Monday, August 31 Photo Richard Skipper Celebrates Anastasia Barzee Monday, August 31
by A.A. Cristi - August 25, 2020

This Monday, Richard Skipper Celebrates Anastasia Barzee! Streaming LIVE through Richard Skipper Celebrates on Facebook and Youtube.  ...


GREAT PERFORMANCES to Feature THE KING AND I, KINKY BOOTS, and More; Full PBS Fall Li Photo GREAT PERFORMANCES to Feature THE KING AND I, KINKY BOOTS, and More; Full PBS Fall Lineup
by Julie Musbach - July 19, 2019

PBS today unveiled its fall slate including new performance specials from Great Performances....


A THOUSAND PINES Adds Film Festival Dates Before PBS Broadcast On Independent Lens Photo A THOUSAND PINES Adds Film Festival Dates Before PBS Broadcast On Independent Lens
by Michael Major - February 26, 2024

Directed by Noam Osband and Sebastián Díaz, A Thousand Pines is set in the beautiful and sometimes unforgiving landscape of the United States' national forests. The first documentary to tell the story of workers in the US timber industry follows Raymundo Morales, the foreman of a crew of migrant wor...


Filmmaker Vikram Gandhi Talks Tekashi 6ix9ine Movie On Tom Needham's SOUNDS OF FILM Photo Filmmaker Vikram Gandhi Talks Tekashi 6ix9ine Movie On Tom Needham's SOUNDS OF FILM
by A.A. Cristi - November 24, 2020

69: THE SAGA OF DANNY HERNANDEZ director, Vikram Gandhi, and BELLY OF THE BEAST director, Erika Cohn, are Tom Needham's special guests this Thursday on THE SOUNDS OF FILM. ...


Photo Flash: Rita Moreno Honored With Peabody Career Achievement Award Photo Photo Flash: Rita Moreno Honored With Peabody Career Achievement Award
by Stephi Wild - May 19, 2019

Yesterday evening, Mercedes-Benz was on hand to celebrate the 78th Annual Peabody Awards and present the legendary Rita Moreno with the Peabody Career Achievement Award, presented by Mercedes-Benz, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York in NYC....


Confronting Palm Springs' Problematic Past, RACIST TREES Premieres On Independent Len Photo Confronting Palm Springs' Problematic Past, RACIST TREES Premieres On Independent Lens Next Month
by Michael Major - December 27, 2023

The documentary captures an inside look at the frustrations of residents of the historically Black Lawrence Crossley Tract neighborhood, who are cut off from the glitz and glamour of Palm Springs, due to the planting of 60-foot tamarisk trees that overshadow the community and are viewed as a symbol ...


31st Annual GOTHAM AWARDS Winners Announced Photo 31st Annual GOTHAM AWARDS Winners Announced
by Gigi Gervais - November 30, 2021

The Gotham Film & Media Institute (The Gotham)  announced the winners of the 31st Annual Gotham Awards at a ceremony held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on November 29....


PBS to Air Documentary About the Bronx, DECADE OF FIRE Photo PBS to Air Documentary About the Bronx, DECADE OF FIRE
by Kaitlin Milligan - October 07, 2019

In the 1970s, the Bronx was on fire. Left unprotected by the city government, nearly a quarter-million people were displaced as their close-knit, multiethnic neighborhood burned to the ground, reducing the community to rubble. While insidious government policies caused the devastation, it was the Af...


JIM ALLISON: BREAKTHROUGH Premieres Tonight on PBS Photo JIM ALLISON: BREAKTHROUGH Premieres Tonight on PBS
by Kaitlin Milligan - April 27, 2020

Director Bill Haney's new documentary, Jim Allison: Breakthrough, praised as “the most cheering film of the year” and listed in The Washington Post's Top 10 Films of the Year, premieres tonight on PBS' Independent Lens at 10:00-11:30 PM ET (check local listings), PBS.org and the PBS Video App...


Sundance Institute Selects 2020 Art of Editing Fellows Photo Sundance Institute Selects 2020 Art of Editing Fellows
by Chloe Rabinowitz - June 26, 2020

8 filmmakers have been chosen to participate in the Sundance Institute's inaugural Art of Editing Lab and Fellowship....


CHARM CITY to Air on PBS' Independent Lens Photo CHARM CITY to Air on PBS' Independent Lens
by Kaitlin Milligan - March 18, 2019

Filmed over a violent three-year period when Baltimore's nickname never seemed less apt, Charm City profiles a group of police, citizens, community leaders and government officials who, with grit, fury and compassion, are grappling with the consequences of violence and trying to reclaim their city's...






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