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IL Series Producer Recaps Sundance 2012
By Lois Vossen, Founding Series Producer of Independent Lens and Vice President of ITVS
ITVS-funded filmmakers and staff rally for lunch at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT
Sundance 2012 was a record-breaking year year for ITVS and Independent Lens. Six ITVS funded films screened in the documentary competitions and all six were honored with Sundance awards. (ITVS had had seven films playing at Sundance in 2004; six films in 2002; and eight films in 1997 for those interested in banner years).
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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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Independent Lens Leads PBS’s Black History Month
The lineup will include three new critically acclaimed documentaries in February: Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, More Than a Month, and The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 — featuring the legendary activist and scholar Dr. Angela Davis.
In February 2012, Independent Lens will lead the celebration of Black History Month on public television with premieres of three new documentaries that shine a unique light on the history of African American activism, with one provocatively re-examining of the whole idea of Black History Month.
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Notes from Amsterdam: A Wrap Up of IDFA
More than a dozen ITVS docs screened at last week’s IDFA festival in Amsterdam. Senior Series producer of Independent Lens Lois Vossen participated in the special FORUM event and offered BTB this wrap up report.
Filmmaker Deepa Dhanraj's Invoking Justice was among the ITVS docs to premiere at IDFA
The 19th FORUM took place in Amsterdam on November 21-23 as part of 25th annual International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The current economic crisis unfolding around us as the EU debt crisis mounts, public financing under pressure, and a dangerous decrease in airtime allocated to social issue documentaries provided an urgency to this year’s FORUM. The IDFA’s FORUM is the longest-standing gathering that brings together documentary filmmakers, TV stations, funds, distributors, and other financiers to support high-level documentary projects and help partner joint ventures.
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Over a Dozen ITVS Films at IDFA
IDFA is one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals, held annually in Amsterdam in November, since 1988. This year, BTB is proud to report that over a dozen ITVS films will be showcased at IDFA. Congratulations to all the filmmakers! See a complete list of the films — and watch the trailers — after the jump.
Bitter Seeds
By Micha X. Peled
Family Portrait in Black and White
By: Julia Ivanova, Boris Ivanov (Reflecting Images – Best of the Fest)
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Filmmaking Pair Pays Tribute to Joe Papp
Last month in New York, the Ford Foundation hosted a screening of the ITVS-funded Joe Papp in Five Acts. The filmmaking pair of Tracie Holder and Karen Thorsen, who spent more than a decade producing the documentary, offered BTB their impressions of the event and the legendary Joe Papp.
The Unofficial Mayor of New York City
By Tracie Holder
Joe Papp in Five Acts is the story of New York’s indomitable, street-wise champion of the arts who introduced interracial casting to the American stage and brought us free Shakespeare in the Park, Hair, and A Chorus Line.
Convinced that women and minorities, denied power elsewhere in society, could develop it on the stage, Papp became a tireless fighter for the arts who raised enduring debate about our founding ideals and the role of the arts in a pluralistic society. Using his life and work as its prism, the film explores the issues he chose to champion: freedom of expression, democracy in the arts, and the definition of American culture.
Recently, the Ford Foundation hosted a screening of our documentary, Joe Papp in Five Acts, at an event celebrating Papp’s Public Theater. It was a thrilling evening during which the President of the Foundation announced a $2 million gift to the Public to complete its capital campaign.
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