The documentary is the product of Swedish journalists, who came to the U.S. to document the anti-war and Black Power movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The film combines music, original 16mm footage, and contemporary audio interviews from leading African American artists, activists, musicians, and scholars.

The organization has supported a slate of documentaries that shine a unique light on the history of African American activism. Several of the films will air this month on Independent Lens. 

February is Black History Month.  It’s an important time for public media, because the heritage months — as artificial as they seem to some, including ITVS-funded filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman, whose film More than A Month tracks his playful yet serious quest to end Black History Month — act as public reminders of our mission to bring underrepresented voices into the mainstream and ensure that the diversity of the nation is reflected on television.

One glance at public television’s offerings reminds us that American history is black history and black history is American history, so intertwined and inseparable are the African-American experience and the life of the United States.

What you’ll find on public television in February are nine new, original programs across PBS series like Frontline, Independent Lens, and Great Performances, alongside encore presentations of landmark programs like Freedom Riders. 

Among the premieres are four ITVS programs that together represent part of what’s special about public television: not just telling stories that should be told and heard, but looking for new and innovative ways to tell them.  And making sure communities can use these stories to engage, face-to-face and online, in ways that celebrate, debate, and most of all connect.

On the innovation front, the mobile app More than a Mapp brings the spirit of More than a Month to mobile devices, providing a fun and interactive (and year-round!) way to learn about Black History through landmarks and historical sites nationwide.  We’re also piloting a new online screening tool — sort of a virtual Community Cinema event, moderated by local public television stations, where people can watch a film together and discuss in real time — with selected Black History month programming through February.

Back in the brick-and-mortar world, Community Cinema is on track to host 200 screenings in January (the biopic Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock) and February (More Than a Month).  And that doesn’t include the selected outreach events to accompany the ITVS-funded The Interrupters,a groundbreaking look at the urban cycle of violence in Chicago and one of the most talked about films in recent history, which airs on Frontline on February 14^th.

We’re also excited about two international programs that shed surprising light on the African-American experience: February’s The Black Power Mix Tape, a retelling of the Black Power Movement through lost footage filmed by Swedish journalists, and the January broadcast of Have You Heard from Johannesburg, a five-part look at the global movement to end apartheid in South Africa.

All in all, it’s an emblematic way for ITVS to start a year filled with programming that goes straight to the heart of public media’s mission: sparking all-American, year-round, year-after-year conversations about who we are, where we’ve been, where we’re going, and who we want to be.

Independent Lens announced its winter/spring 2012 schedule this week. “Our upcoming winter/spring season features a robust slate of some of the most engaging and award-winning documentaries ever on Independent Lens,” said senior series producer Lois Vossen. “It’s a perfect mix of unique characters, critical issues, and important stories that demonstrate the extraordinary range and power of independent documentary filmmakers. We can’t wait to share them with millions of viewers across the country.”

The winter/spring season includes recent IDA Award winners, Independent Spirit Award nominees, a duPont Award winner, and two films on the so-called “short-list” for Academy Award® nominations: Hell and Back Again, one of the most powerful documentaries ever made about war, and We Were Here, a heartfelt, heartbreaking look at the early days of the AIDS crisis in San Francisco.

Also on the slate is The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, an explosive look inside the black power movement with never-before-seen interviews with its leaders filmed at the peak of their power, and Revenge of the Electric Car, which gives us hope that sustainable transportation is possible.

Other films look at the impact of ethnic studies on Latino students, bring to life an unsung civil rights leader named Daisy Bates, and challenge the concept of Black History Month as outdated. And fans of a furry red puppet will meet its charismatic creator, Kevin Clash, in the delightful Being Elmo.

Independent Lens leads black history in February with three groundbreaking films

“With every program we present, and with each new season we curate, Independent Lens strives to be the leader in public television’s efforts to showcase diverse programming that is relevant to all our American communities,” said Vossen. “Public television is an important part of our national public square, and Independent Lens is committed to bringing these unique stories and the conversations they inspire to public television.”

Find the complete season lineup below and check local listings for all dates and times.

February 2, 2012 – Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock
Produced and directed by Sharon LaCruise

February 9, 2012 – The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
Directed by Göran Hugo Olsson

February 16, 2012 - More Than a Month
Produced and Directed by Shukree Hassan Tilghman

March 29, 2012 – You’re Looking at Me Like I Live Here and I Don’t
Produced and directed by Scott Kirschenbaum

April 5, 2012 – Being Elmo
Produced and directed by Constance Marks

April 12, 2012 – When the Drum Is Beating
Produced and directed by Whitney Dow

April 19, 2012 – Revenge of the Electric Car
Directed by Chris Paine

April 26, 2012 – Facing the Storm: Story of the American Bison
Producer and directed by Doug Hawes-Davis

May 3, 2012 – Circo
Produced by directed by Aaron Schock

May 10, 2012 – Summer Pasture
A film by Lynn True, Nelson Walker III, and Tsering Perlo

May 17, 2012 – Precious Knowledge
Directed by Ari Palos

May 24, 2012 – Hell and Back Again
Directed by Danfung Dennis

May 31, 2012 – Left by the Ship
Produced and Directed by Emma Rossi Landi and Alberto Vendemmiati

June 7, 2012 – We Were Here
Directed by David Weissman

July 2012 (date TBA) – Strong!
Produced and directed by Julie Wyman

For more information about Independent Lens, visit www.pbs.org/independentlens.

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.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 airs the following week on February 9. Directed by Göran Hugo Olsson, the film weaves together footage shot by Swedish television journalists, chronicling the black power movement of the 1960s. Featuring iconic leaders Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis, and Eldridge Cleaver — the film provides a fascinating look at the people, society, culture, and style that fueled an era of convulsive change.

Finally, More Than a Month will premiere on PBS on February 16. The film follows African American director Shukree Hassan Tilghman on a cross-country journey to end Black History Month as he explores what the treatment of history tells us about race and power in “post-racial” America.

This year at Press Tour, Independent Lens teamed up with PBS NewsHour‘s Hari Sreenivasan, who interviewed nearly a dozen filmmakers and subjects on the films honoring black history. Keep an eye on BTB and NewsHour to watch those conversations in their entirety.

Independent Lens launched a slate of films on black history at the Winter Press Tour in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Times: Black History Month: A celebration with mixed feelings on PBS
The celebration of Black History Month on PBS’s Independent Lens will include a film that is highly critical of the annual February observance of African American history.

Boston Globe: “Hell and Back Again,” presents war flashbacks from different perspectives
With some documentaries, you can feel the filmmakers hit a wall. They have a great subject – the war in Afghanistan, say – and they have a point to make or an angle to pursue. But, despite the proliferation of talking heads, they can’t find a style or a voice. The heads talk, but the movie doesn’t speak. Danfung Dennis doesn’t appear to have a limit.

The Boston Phoenix: Hell and Back Again
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, Hell and Back Again offers a potent documentary correlative to the narrative of The Hurt Locker.

Deadline Hollywood: PBS Plays “Black Power Mixtape” Doc: TCA
Longtime political and human rights activist Angela Davis stopped by Pasadena and TCA this afternoon to help promote a new edition of the PBS series Independent Lens in which she appears.

RealScreen: Doc screenplay nominees announced for WGA Awards
The films up for the documentary screenplay are: Better This World, written by Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega, Loteria Films; If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, written by Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamachek.

Visit our pressroom to find additional coverage of ITVS programs >>

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.

Independent Lens’s Black History Month program kicks off on February 2, 2012 with the premiere of Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, the story of a seven-year journey by filmmaker Sharon La Cruise to get to know the mostly forgotten civil rights activist Daisy Bates.

Beautiful, glamorous, and articulate, Bates was fearless in her quest for justice, stepping into the spotlight to bring national attention to issues — and some say to herself.

Unconventional and egotistical, she became a household name in 1957 when she fought for the right of nine black students to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her public campaign culminated in a constitutional crisis — pitting a president against a governor and a community against itself.

Fresh from a successful theatrical run, Independent Lens presents Göran Hugo Olsson’s The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975 on February 9, 2012 . In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Swedish television journalists came to America to document the burgeoning Black Power movement.

This fascinating film weaves this long-lost trove of film into an irresistible mosaic chronicling the movement’s evolution: footage shot on the streets of Harlem, Brooklyn, and Oakland; interviews with Black Power leaders including Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis, and Eldridge Cleaver; and contemporary audio interviews with leading African American artists, activists, musicians, and scholars. The film provides a fascinating look at the people, society, culture, and style that fueled an era of convulsive change.

Finally, on February 16, 2012, More Than a Month follows African American filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman on a cross-country campaign to end Black History Month. Humorous and thought provoking, More Than a Month combines cinema verité, man-on-the-street interviews, and inspired dramatizations to explore what the treatment of history tells us about race and power in “post-racial” America. What does it mean that we have a Black History Month? What would it mean if we didn’t?

In addition to the film, the Independent Lens team will unveil More Than a Map(p), a smartphone application that uses a phone’s GPS to point users in the direction of the nearest location relevant to African American history. Users can experience each point in a variety of ways including text, video, audio, and links to more information. What makes More Than a Map(p) truly unique is the user’s ability to add his or her own historical points to the map — points that then become part of everyone’s app. More Than a Map(p) will be available on iTunes February 2012.

On Thursday, January 5, 2012, Independent Lens will present its Black History Month slate at the Television Critics Association meetings in Los Angeles. At the event, filmmakers Sharon La Cruise and Shukree Hassan Tilghman will be joined by legendary activist, scholar, and icon Dr. Angela Davis.

“It is beyond exciting that Dr. Davis has agreed to join us for this presentation, and to support Black History Month on public broadcasting,” said Lois Vossen, series producer for Independent Lens. “This important programming will reach more African American families — and more Americans overall — because of her participation.”

Two of the three films — Daisy Bates and More than a Month — will also be featured in ITVS’s acclaimed Community Cinema program, where local public television stations team up with community-based organizations and NGOs to present special live preview screenings. With expert speakers and panel discussions to help contextualize the programs, these screenings give audiences the opportunity to get involved. More than 100 screenings of each film will take place in cities and towns across the country during the months of January and February. Find more information and screenings your area, here.

In addition, Daisy Bates is also part of the ITVS-led Women and Girls Lead campaign, a three-year public media initiative to focus, educate, and connect citizens worldwide in support of the issues facing women and girls. By building a pipeline of some 50 public television documentaries and integrating content from partners across radio, commercial television, and beyond, Women and Girls Lead offers another model for public media to serve its mission in the 21st century.

To learn more about the films, and the issues involved, visit the companion website. Get detailed information on each film, watch preview clips, read interviews with the filmmakers, and explore the subjects in depth with links and resources. The site also features a Talkback section where viewers can share their ideas and opinions.

The New York Times: Dot Earth Blog: If a Tree Falls, Can it when an Oscar?
…an extraordinary documentary by the brilliant young filmmakers Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman that explores the prosecution of members of the Earth Liberation Front for a series of costly arson fires.

The New York Times: Year-End Lists: Top Ten Movies of 2011
David Weissman’s documentary We Were Here was among the top films (fiction & documentary) selected by Stephen Holden.

Womens eNews: Daughters of Imprisoned Moms Regroup for a Sequel
Troop 1500, rebroadcasting tonight on PBS’s Independent Lens, is about Girl Scouts who trek together to visit mothers behind bars. Director Ellen Spiro talks here about the reunion sequel she is making with the daughters, five years later.

Realscreen.com: PBS unveils 2012 Black History Month line-up
U.S. public broadcaster PBS has unveiled the programming for Black History Month in February, including a number of specials and feature docs looking at a variety of historical events from the post-Emancipation era to the rise of the Black Power movement.

Visit our pressroom to find additional coverage of ITVS programs >>

There is a heritage or history month for practically every ethnicity, race, and identity. Throughout February, we on BTB have been highlighting documentaries by and about filmmakers of color, in honor of Black History Month. From NBPC’s AfroPop Series to the Independent Lens doc When I Rise featuring the legendary opera singer Barbara Smith Conrad.

Now, Independent Lens host America Ferrera reminds us to celebrate diversity on a daily basis. Know your roots and history, and join with others to celebrate theirs, every Tuesday at 10 PM on PBS.

If you missed the Independent Lens premiere of When I Rise last night on PBS, you can now catch the film in it’s entirety streaming on PBS video. And don’t forget to check out the exclusive video extras that you can only find on the Independent Lens website and read yesterday’s New York Times feature about the film.