Filmmaker Sharon La Cruise Discusses Daisy Bates Biopic with Hari Sreenivasan

The documentary Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock will air Thursday, February 2 on Independent Lens to kick off Black History Month. Recently, PBS NEWSHOUR’s Hari Sreenivasan caught up with filmmaker Sharon La Cruise to discuss the project.

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Tags: Black History Month, central high school, Daisy Bates, hari sreenivasan, Independent Lens, little rock nine, pbs newshour, sharon la cruise

Filmmakers of “The House I Live In” Respond to Sundance Premiere

By Steve Goldbloom, Reporting for PBS and BTB at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival

The House I Live In premiered last weekend at the Sundance Film Festival. The film weaves together director Eugene Jarecki’s personal narrative with America’s war on drugs. Here, producers including Sam Cullman, Melinda Shopsin, Danny Glover, and director Eugene Jarecki — reflect on the film and its Sundance premiere.

Tags: Danny Glover, eugene jarecki, Independent Lens, ITVS, park city, PBS, Sundance Film Festival, the house i live in

Filmmakers of “The Invisible War” Reflect on Sundance Premiere

By Steve Goldbloom, Reporting for PBS and BTB at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival

This past weekend, filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering premiered their documentary The Invisible War at the Sundance Film Festival. The film examines the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the U.S. military, the institutions that cover up its existence, and the profound personal and social consequences that arise from it. Watch the video below as both filmmakers recount the Sundance experience.

Tags: amy ziering, Independent Lens, kirby dick, park city, Sundance Film Festival, the invisible war

“Hell and Back Again” Filmmaker Danfung Dennis Reacts to Oscar Nomination

By Steve Goldbloom, Reporting for PBS and BTB at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival

Danfung Dennis woke up this morning in Park City as an Academy Award nominated filmmaker for his documentary Hell and Back Again. The film weaves together two overlapping narratives of a Marine at war on the front and in recovery at home. BTB caught up with the filmmaker earlier today on Main St at the Sundance Film Festival.

Hell and Back Again will air on May 24 on Independent Lens.

Tags: academy awards, Afghanistan, danfung dennis, hell and back again, oscars, park city, Sundance Film Festival, veterans, war

Macky Alston’s “Love Free or Die” Takes Off at Sundance

By Steve Goldbloom, Reporting for PBS and BTB at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival

Premiering Monday night at Sundance is Macky Alston’s new film Love Free or Die, which  follows the historic and controversial rise of Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop. BTB caught up with Alston at a mass held at St. Luke’s Church on Sunday in Park City, where LGBT leaders showed up to support and discuss the film.

Love Free or Die is an ITVS-funded film slated for broadcast on an upcoming season of  Independent Lens.

Tags: church, gene robinson, Independent Lens, love free or die, macky alston, Sundance Film Festival

Independent Lens Honors Black History at TCA

At this year’s Television Critics Association, Independent Lens announced three new films that examine the history of African American activism and produced a panel including legendary activist Angela Davis and artist Talib Kweli. Watch the video below to see some of the icons and artists who joined Independent Lens in recognizing African American history at this year’s TCA Press Tour in Los Angeles.

Lois Vossen (IL), Sharon La Cruise (Daisy Bates), Dr. Angela Davis and Talib Kweli (The Black Power Mixtape), Michael Jones (COO of PBS), and Shukree Hassan Tilghman (More Than a Month)

Independent Lens begins its celebration of Black History Month on PBS with Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, which premiers on February 2. The film follows the seven-year journey of filmmaker Sharon La Cruise to learn about the mostly forgotten civil rights activist Daisy Bates.
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Tags: angela davis, Black History Month, black power mixtape, Daisy Bates, Independent Lens, More Than a Month, Press Tour, talib kweli, tca

Catch To Be Heard on Public Television

The ITVS-funded documentary To Be Heard looks at a unique poetry class in the Bronx for at-risk youth where anything can be said or shared. The film was produced and directed by Roland Legiardi-Laura, Amy Sultan, Deborah Shaffer, and Eddie Martinez – a combination of seasoned filmmakers, educators, and instructors in the Power Writers program. ITVS’s Kate Sullivan Green spoke with all four about their nearly seven-year journey of making the film, the importance of literacy, and their online companion, Power Poetry. To Be Heard is playing in January on public television. Additional online-only content will accompany the film in the months ahead.

How did you all come together to make this film?
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Tags: Bronx, education, ITVS, New York, power poetry, to be heard

Filmmaker Discusses The Woodmans

Filmmaker C. Scott Willis sat down with BTB earlier this year in San Francisco to discuss his documentary The Woodmans. The film offers an inspiring portrait of one family’s fall and redemption in the often brutal world of art and premieres Thursday, December 22 on Independent Lens.

Tags: arts, c. scott willis, Independent Lens, PBS, the woodmans

Filmmaker Reflects on High Profile Screenings of Lives Worth Living

Filmmaker Eric Neudel’s documentary, Lives Worth Living, follows one man’s struggle to survive after a spinal cord injury and his role in the earliest days of the Disability Rights Movement. Neudel followed up with BTB after his high profile screenings last week at the State Department and the UN.

On November 17^th we received a call from ITVS’ Dennis Palmieri.  He said that earlier that day both the U.S. Department of State and the United Nations had contacted him about screening our film, Lives Worth Living.  Wow – what a surprise that was!
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Tags: disability rights, eric neudel, Independent Lens, lives worth living

ITVS International Call Profile: Koen Suidgeest

The ITVS International Call deadline is a little more than a week, falling on December 9, 2011. Leading up to the date, BTB has profiled several international filmmakers who have received ITVS support. This week, we get to know filmmaker Koen Suidgeest, who received funding for her documentary Karla’s Arrival. The filmmaker joined us via Skype (forgive the quality) from Madrid.