It’s Academy Awards time again and this year ITVS has not one, but two horses in the Oscar race! Among the films selected for best documentary were two ITVS programs: Hell and Back Again by Danfung Dennis and If a Tree Falls by filmmakers Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman (broadcast last September on POV). Hell and Back Again airs on May 24, 2012 at 10 PM and on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012, both nights at 10 PM on Independent Lens.

We wanted to do something fun in anticipation of Sunday’s festivities, so we whipped up a quick little ballot for you to fill out and submit, to see how many of you can guess the outcome in several major categories. We’ll accept ballot entries (one per user, please!) up until 5 PM PST on Sunday, February 26, 2012. We’ll randomly select five entries from among the highest scores for personal glory and some special surprises.

Hell and Back Again filmmaker reacts to Oscar nomination:

If a Tree Falls filmmaker reacts to Oscar nomination:

Narrated by NPR’s Garrison Keillor, The Hayloft Gang tells the story of one of early radio’s most popular programs: the National Barn Dance and ITVS’s Kate Sullivan Green recently sat down with Directror/Producer Stephen Parry to talk about the film. Read the interview below, watch The Hayloft Gang on PBS throughout September (check local listings), and enter the special online video contest.

Why did you decide to make a film about the National Barn Dance?
It’s an untold story in American music and culture.  I fell in love with bluegrass at my first festival in 1994, and around the campfires heard all these old timers talking about this radio show out of Chicago called the National Barn Dance.  From there I uncovered that Chicago was actually the capital of country music before World War II.  The Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium in Nashville are household names today, but in the 1930s and 40s, the epicenter of our film, Chicago was top dog coast to coast, on the NBC network every Saturday night, and those performers were household names.

What impact do you hope this film will have?
I hope viewers take away that this is more than a story about country music. It’s about the changing of rural America in the first half of the 20th century. It’s also the real roots of American music.  Every Saturday night you could hear country, bluegrass, turn of the century ballads, polka, even comedy acts – it was really one of the first variety shows.

How did the idea for The Hayloft Gang Video Contest evolve?
The National Barn Dance used to go to all the local farming communities and promote their home talent show.  All the locals would come up to the school auditorium, and everyone played music back then, and they would imitate their favorite stars and then winners would be able to be a guest on the show.  A family now well into their 80s from Northeastern Indiana who had participated in these talent shows were interviewed for the film, and it’s a touching story, so I thought why can’t we do this in an online environment?   People can win great prizes too – a Martin HD-28V guitar, a custom Northfield A5M Mandolin, and tickets to Austin City Limits.

What’s your favorite and least favorite part of the production process?
I love research.  I really enjoy just pouring through the archives, sending out the queries and uncovering the old home movies.  And then through those kernals, the story comes out. My least favorite part is probably pretty common – fundraising.  I was at a point where I was ready to throw in the towel when word came that we received ITVS funding through the LINCS initiative.  That was awesome; we could have never completed the project otherwise.  It’s been like getting a Masters in filmmaking.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about filmmaking?
Don’t give up.  Persevere.  I started research in 2003 and we got our first funding in 2004.  There were many times I thought, ‘Is this worth it?  Why don’t I just bag it?’ But I didn’t.  I had the passion from knowing this story needs to be told.  Then I started meeting the fans and was doing it for them as well.

What’s a film you’ve watched recently and really enjoyed?
I haven’t had much time to watch much of anything, but started to catch up and saw Les Paul: Chasing Sound from American Masters.  It’s brilliant – superb editing, graphics, everything.

What’s next for you?
I of course have some ideas kicking around that would make great films but in the near future want to get some balance back in my life.  After that bluegrass festival in 1994, I went out and bought a guitar the next day.  I don’t play much, and am not that much better than I was back then, but I have a blast with it, so would like to focus on songwriting and take some lessons.  It’s a great creative outlet.  I’m also a big believer in PBS and would love to do more work with them in the future.

Watch The Hayloft Gang on PBS throughout September (check local listings) and don’t forget to enter The Hayloft Gang Video Contest today!

Narrated by Garrison Keillor, The Hayloft Gang: The Story of the National Barn Dance tells the story of a changing America through the lens of one of the nation’s most popular country music radio shows during the 1930s and 40s: the National Barn Dance.

As of Monday, August 15 — fans can participate in a special online video contest in the tradition of home talent shows as seen in this PBS documentary.

Check out the video below as Garrison Keillor gives some background to the project:

You can also watch a more detailed rundown of the contest here:

The Hayloft Gang, by filmmaker Stephen Parry weaves rare performance footage, home movies, and candid photographs with first-hand accounts from fans and performers. In addition, interviews with historians, folklorists, and media experts reveal historical and cultural perspectives on the story.

Keep an eye out for The Hayloft Gang, coming to PBS in September and enter the contest today!

The Best. Teacher. Ever! contest winner will be announced next week.

Thank you all for the nominations for the teachers who changed your lives for the better. We’ve been moved and inspired by the stories of those special educators out there who accept long hours, not-so-great pay, and limited resources because they want to see young people thrive. They all deserve our prizes and then some!

But, we’ve got to narrow it down to five finalists and then let you — our viewers — decide the top winner. We’ll announce who they are next week, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, we hope all teachers out there have a relaxing summer break ahead of them.

As we all know, teachers are often overworked, under-appreciated, and meagerly compensated. But all of us have had teachers who helped us grow up, make sense of the world, and to find our footing.

At ITVS, we want educators to get the props (and resources) they deserve. Community Classroom does that by giving teachers free stuff: standards-aligned lesson plans, fabulous independent film content (often using Independent Lens films), innovative games, discussion guides, and more.

We want to celebrate those life-changing teachers. Send us the name of the teacher in your life — along with the school, the year, the city or town, and what you remember about that teacher — that made you nominate him or her as your Best. Teacher. Ever.

Post your nominations through comments on Facebook or email them to classroom@itvs.org (We encourage you to include a relevant photo or video if you have one.)

Our winning teacher and our four runners up will each receive one of our great prizes, including a Kindle from Amazon.com, autographed film posters, full-length films from our Community Classroom collection, and lots more. We will also profile the nominee, as well as the student or colleague who submitted the nomination, on our blogs.

Join us in celebrating teachers that make a difference!

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week (but really all year long) we want educators to get the props (and resources) they deserve. Our friends at Community Classroom do that by giving teachers free stuff: standards-aligned lesson plans, fabulous independent film content (often using Independent Lens films), innovative games, discussion guides, and more.

Most of us have a teacher who stands out in our memory as the one who really sparked our passion for learning or for a specific subject, or encouraged us at a key point in our academic lives. Or perhaps you work with a teacher who inspires his or her students in an exceptional way.

We at Independent Lens, ITVS, and Community Classroom want to celebrate those life-changing teachers. Send us the name of that teacher in your life, along with the school, the year, the city or town, and what you remember about that teacher that made you nominate him or her as your Best. Teacher. Ever. Post your nominations in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or by email at classroom@itvs.org. (We encourage you to include a relevant photo or video if you have one.)

We will select the most inspirational nominations we receive and then let the world vote for our top winner. Our winner and runners up will receive one of our great prizes, including a Kindle from Amazon.com, autographed film posters, full-length films from our Community Classroom collection, and lots more. We will also profile the nominee as well as the student or colleague who submitted the nomination on our blogs!

You’ve watched the films. You’ve shared, commented, and liked. Maybe even loved. There have been ups and downs, laughter and tears. And this May, you get to decide who will take the laurels in our inaugural FUTURESTATES Audience Award.

From today until May 30 at midnight, the race is on to launch your favorite FUTURESTATES film into hyperspace. Head back to FUTURESTATES.TV, catch up on any films you missed, and check out the fan pages for each of the films.

You can vote once a day, and polling closes at midnight on May 30. We’ll announce the winner on June 1, 2011.

BEHOLDER
Watch on Futurestates.tv or Like on Facebook

REMIGRATION
Watch on Futurestates.tv, or Like on Facebook

ASPARAGUS
Watch on Futurestates.tv or Like on Facebook

SPRING OF SORROW
Watch on Futurestates.tv or Like on Facebook

DIGITAL ANTIQUITIES
Watch on Futurestates.tv or Like on Facebook

EXPOSURE
Watch on Futurestates.tv or Like on Facebook

THE DIG
Watch on Futurestates.tv or Like on Facebook

WHITE
Watch on Futurestates.tv or Like on Facebook

WORKER DRONE
Watch on Futurestates.tv or Like on Facebook

THAT WHICH ONCE WAS
Watch on Futurestates.tv or Like on Facebook

Honestly, we are humbled and amazed by all of the artists who submitted their work to us for our Are You a Visionary? art contest in honor of our Artists Month slate of documentaries for April. Never in the history of our user contests have we had a response nearing it. Thank you artists and voters!

Fifteen finalists and 1,274 votes later, the results are in. It was a horse race up to the finish, with the top four vote-getters separated by a single vote each at several points during active voting. First place wavered between five different entries as the week progressed. In the end, our runner up and our winner emerged.

Vanessa is the winner of an autographed photograph by Mark Hogancamp, the subject of this week’s documentary Marwencol, which premieres tonight at 10 PM (check local listings).

Drum roll … and the grand prize winner is …

This is what Sophia said about her entry at the beginning of the competition:

“What inspired me to create this piece was the gap between gays and religion. The rejection gays face from society can cause a fear and anxiety so tormenting that some end their lives or live in denial. In my self-portrait, I wanted to depict their desperation to find faith, a fear of that they’ll never be accepted, and their yearning to find a moment of peace and understanding. Using white face make-up and a self-made crown, I chose to portray Jesus to show the juxtaposition between needing acceptance from God and the solitude and hatred gays face, just as Jesus did at Calvary from man and God. As an artist my desire is to be a voice for the voiceless and tell stories for the multitude of individuals searching for someone who is willing to listen to them.”
– Sophia Nahli Allison, Glenwood, Illinois

Sophia wins an original painting by outsider artist Mikey Welsh, the former bassist of Weezer and the subject of our Artists Month profile. We’ll be interviewing Sophia next week about her work.

Congratulations Vanessa and Sophia, and to all of our competitors for an amazing competition. You are all gifted beyond our wildest imagination!

Check your mail for your prizes; remember that everyone who entered (and included their mailing address) has won an Independent Lens season poster featuring Jean-Michel Basquiat.

During last week’s live chat with filmmakers — co-presented with PBS NewsHour’s Art Beat — we launched a contest daring Independent Lens fans to submit their artwork.

Our inbox quickly flooded with entries and we have assembled 15 finalists for you to review. Check out the slideshow of our talented contestants’ work, and then vote for your favorite. You can vote only once a day.

Polling will close on Monday, April 25 at noon PDT. We’ll announce our winner on April 26!

(This works best if you click the four arrows icon in the bottom right of the window to make the slideshow full-screen, and click “show info” as the slideshow plays, to learn more about each piece and the artists.)

Ready to vote? Click on through to the other side!

Submit an image by February 4 showing your own independent filmmaking process in action — at a shoot, on the set, at the editing bay, you name it.  If your photo is chosen, you’ll win your own copy of the manual with your photo and credit on the cover, plus a bonus CD!

To qualify, you must own the rights to the photo, and it can’t include third-party material (like a poster of someone else’s film).  Please email your entries along with photo credits and captions to njeri_eaton@itvs.org by February 4.  Good luck!

This 365-page manual is distributed widely, and it’s a great resource for anyone looking to produce programs for public television. It’s based on years of industry experience, offering a collection of practical information contributed by ITVS staff, independent producers, distributors, and colleagues from media organizations and the public television field.

It demystifies the process of getting your film to broadcast and beyond with sections on insurance, financial considerations, new media rights and clearances, public broadcasting distribution, publicity, social media, community engagement, and much more.

An additional bonus CD includes 30 sample forms useful in film production, as well as a detailed reference chart of key program deliverables usually required by public television broadcasters.