We Are Family — Behind the Scenes on Sunshine

Filmmaker Karen Skloss with Jeremy Harrison

What makes a family? It’s a question our society is grappling with, and the question that drove filmmaker Karen Skloss to make her film, Sunshine, which premieres on Independent Lens on PBS on May 4 (check local listings).

In this exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, Skloss captures a storyline about single fathers and gay parents that didn’t make it into the final cut of the film, but which adds another layer of complexity to the broader societal discussion of family and identity, parenthood and pride.

Jeremy, father to Skloss’s daughter Jasmine, is the product of divorce and was raised in part by his gay father in Houston in the late 1970s. As was the case for Skloss, and her biological mother before her, Jeremy’s father Mike had to deal with the social stigma of single parenthood, but he also had to navigate the more explosive territory of being a single dad who happened also to be gay in a very conservative place and time.

Watch Sunshine: Single Dads >>

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Tags: family, gay parents, parenting, single parents

Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas) Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS

“With brave and brutal honesty, [Filmmaker Monika] Navarro, 31, turns the camera on her own clan as she explores a family history that embodies the best and worst of the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico.”
- Hispanic Magazine

Augie and Gino were living the American dream — raised and educated in the United States and proud veterans of the U.S. military. But in 1999, these two brothers were forced to leave the only country they’d ever known and had pledged to protect. Follow filmmaker Monika Navarro on her familial journey to Mexico as she pieces together the tragic events of her uncles’ deportation and opens a Pandora’s box of family secrets.

Check out a preview of tonight’s broadcast below:

Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas) premieres tonight, Tuesday, March 23 at 10:00 on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings). A co-production of ITVS in association with WGBH-Boston and LPB.

Tags: deportation, family, immigration, Mexico, Military

Behind the Scenes of Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas)

Augie and Gino were living the American dream –– raised and educated in the United States and proud veterans of the military. But in 1999, these two brothers were forced to leave the only country they’d ever known and had pledged to protect. Airing next Tuesday, March 23 at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS, filmmaker Monika Navarro goes on a journey across the border to Mexico to piece together the tragic events of her uncles’ deportation and opens a Pandora’s box of family secrets.

Watch this exclusive behind-the-scenes video from Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas) in which Navarro explains the deeper themes of her film, including shifting definitions of “home” and “truth” in a family affected by addiction and deportation.

Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas) airs Tuesday, March 23 at 10:00 on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings). A co-production of ITVS in association with WGBH-Boston and LPB.

Tags: behind-the-scenes, deportation, family, immigration, Mexico, Military

ITVS Staffer Reflects on the Earthquake in Haiti

Nearly a month ago, Haiti experienced its strongest earthquake in more than two centuries, which caused massive destruction and left hundreds of thousands homeless and an estimated 200,000 dead. ITVS’s Voleine Amilcar, a Haitian American, was at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Los Angeles when the earthquake struck. Read her personal account below about how the tragedy impacted her family and how she remains optimistic about the recovery efforts.

Voleine Amilcar (right) with her cousin who survived the Haiti earthquake.

The library in Carrefour-Feuilles, a town outside the capital, before the earthquake.

The library after the earthquake.

It has been almost a month since the massive earthquake in Haiti and the glare of the media is dimming but for many Haitian Americans the shock and deadly impact of the earthquake still haunts us.

As a Haitian American, I was deeply affected by the massive earthquake in Haiti that occurred on January 12. I was in Los Angeles for work to manage a press conference for an upcoming Independent Lens program, Dirt! The Movie, when I received news of the 7.0 Earthquake. But I didn’t understand the enormity, the level of devastation the quake had caused until I was able to turn the TV to CNN.

The epicenter of the quake was situated about 20 minutes from where many of my relatives lived in Haiti. Immediately I called my parents who live 30 minutes outside of San Francisco to find out if they had heard from family members in Haiti. They had not been able to get through to anyone on their cell phones or house phones. Then the waiting game began and the agony set in as I watched endless images and footage of collapsed buildings and bodies being pulled out of those very familiar cinder block homes and buildings. My mind couldn’t stop racing with the awful possibilities. A wave of despair washed over me when I saw images of the partially collapsed presidential palace. Despite a myriad of corrupt inhabitants, the presidential palace was for many Haitians a source of pride. But the symbolism, a defeated government, could not be ignored. And I thought, Haiti has been brought to its knees.

Three days after the earthquake we received word that my cousins and uncles had survived the quake. One of my uncles lost his home and was transported to the Dominican Republic for an operation on his broken arm. Another cousin sustained a broken leg. Most of my relatives were now homeless. Everyone was accounted for except for a dear woman named Madame Alexi who helped raised me when I lived in Haiti. For days, a dark cloud hung over me as I waited to hear about Madame Alexi’s whereabouts. Was she alive? And how would we ever know if whether she was one of the thousands buried under the rubble? Ten days later we were able to connect with Madame Alexi to confirm that she was safe. Her dream house, which included the room she had prepared for me for my visits to Haiti, collapsed entirely. And now she is among the thousands who are homeless, living in her front yard with the rest of her family staying close to what remains of their house because bodies still litter the streets.

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Tags: earthquake, family, Haiti

P-Star Rising Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS

“It’s a good one, and a different sort of film for this consistently rewarding series. The film, by Gabriel Noble, chronicles the aspirations of one of the most self-assured kids you’ll ever see.”
- The New York Times

What did you want to be when you grew up? Nine-year-old Priscilla wants to become the youngest female rap star ever. With her single father turned manager, Priscilla travels from Harlem street corners to sold out shows around the world — eventually landing a record deal and starring role on PBS’s The Electric Company. But the road to stardom means figuring out whom to trust while hanging around people twice her size and four times her age. For Priscilla, otherwise known as P-Star, the ride has just begun.

This is the final film of Independent Lens‘s Music Month celebration.

Learn more and get local broadcast listings >>

We also recently caught up with P-Star to talk about tonight’s Independent Lens broadcast and what it was like being the subject of a documentary.  Check out this exclusive interview with her below.

Check out P-Star’s latest music video where she performs Daddy’s Little Girl with Tony Sunshine and features footage from tonight’s broadcast on Independent Lens.

Tags: family, music, music month, rap, The Electric Company

Exclusive Video: Rapper P-Star Gives Advice to Young Musical Artists

Next Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 10:00 PM the documentary P-Star Rising will have its national television premiere on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings). This film is the final installment of Independent Lens’s Music Month celebration.

Nine-year-old Priscilla wants to become the youngest female rap star ever. With her single father turned manager, Priscilla travels from Harlem street corners to sold out shows around the world –– eventually landing a record deal and starring role on PBS’s The Electric Company. But the road to stardom means figuring out who to trust while hanging around people twice her size and four times her age.

In the video below, P-Star gives some advice on what she learned about the music industry and what it takes to make it in this highly competitive field.

Also, check out this video where P-Star raps freestyle about her rise to fame.

Learn more about P-Star Rising and other Music Month programming >>

Tags: family, music, music month, rap, The Electric Company