Independent Lens
PBS Shines Light on Independents at 2012 Annual Meeting
By Lois Vossen
Senior Series Producer, Independent Lens
Lois Vossen, Senior Series Producer of Independent Lens
Each spring, PBS hosts its Annual Meeting, an opportunity for people from across the public television landscape to come together and see what worked the year before and look ahead to what the coming year holds. The PBS Annual Meeting is attended by public television station staff including general managers, programmers, outreach and publicity staff, along with members of the minority consortia, series producers, presenting organizations, and staff from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
› Continue reading
Waiting for Health Care
The following post was featured in Sunday’s online edition of The New York Times. The report comes from Emmy Award-winning documentary Peter Nicks whose latest film The Waiting Room goes behind the doors of an American public hospital struggling to care for a community of largely uninsured patients. The film will air next season on PBS’s Independent Lens.
Half the Sky Wins New Fans at PBS Annual Meeting
By Tamara Gould
Vice President, ITVS International
Based on the bestselling book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky will premiere as a special presentation on Independent Lens in October 2012. The project is a cornerstone of the Women and Girls Lead campaign and was on display at last week’s PBS Annual Meeting in Denver.
Just back from the PBS annual meeting in Denver and was absolutely thrilled by the response from stations to the upcoming Half the Sky series, which will air on October 1 and 2 as a special presentation of Independent Lens.
This project has been several years in the making, taking up the ambitious work of New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn who wrote Half the Sky to highlight the challenges that women and girls are facing worldwide — issues like trafficking, maternal health, female genital mutilation, and gender based violence.
› Continue reading
RECAP: Doc U — The Future of Docs on PBS
By Katharine Relth
On Thursday, May 10th, Independent Lens Senior Series Producer Lois Vossen sat on a panel for “Doc U: The Future of Docs on PBS” in Los Angeles, CA. The event was presented by the International Documentary Association.
In preparing for last night’s Doc U: The Future of Docs on PBS, each one of the panelists (and probably most of the audience) thought that they would be gearing up for some major mobilization. Up until Wednesday, May 9, the IDA and other proponents of quality independent programming like Kartemquin Films had joined together to release a public campaign against PBS’s recent decision to move its exemplary series for independent documentaries, Independent Lens and POV, from their long-established slots on Tuesday night to Thursday night, a slot reserved for local programming. But the day before this panel was set to mobilize the documentary community to support IDA and Kartemquin’s PBS Needs Indies campaign, the Public Broadcasting Station announced that both Independent Lens and POV would find a new home on Monday nights. This was an incredible victory for everyone involved. The IDA was so pleased with this announcement, hoping it will mean a renewed viewership for the programs affected by the earlier change. › Continue reading
New Primetime Home for Indie Series Emerges From Independent Strategy Task Force Meetings
ITVS President and CEO Sally Jo Fifer Applauds Year-Round Monday Slot on PBS Core Schedule to Help Meet First-Order Mission of Public Broadcasting
I’m pleased to report that the Independent Strategy Task Force has emerged from months of conversation to deliver a new 10 p.m. primetime slot on Monday nights for Independent Lens and POV. This is great news for our series filmmakers and audiences, but more importantly it affirms the partnership and mission that independents and public broadcasting steward together: amplifying diverse voices to strengthen our democracy.
› Continue reading
Doc U: The Future of Docs on PBS
On Thursday, May 10th, Independent Lens Senior Series Producer Lois Vossen will be speaking at the panel “Doc U: The Future of Docs on PBS” in Los Angeles. The event will be presented by the International Documentary Association.
Independent Lens and POV have continually provided a broadcast slot of independent documentary films on PBS. In May 2011, due to schedule changes in PBS’s prime-time schedule, both programs were moved to Thursday evening – a time traditionally reserved for stations’ local and syndicated programming. The inconsistent time slot has been problematic for Independent Lens, with a significant drop in viewership since the schedule change.
Since then, both shows have been the topic of much debate and the documentary community has rallied in support, resulting in PBS’s public announcement to reconsider another schedule shift and together with a newly formed Independent Strategy Task Force, work together in order to rectify the issue. Paired with the significant cuts to PBS’ nonfiction programming from the National Endowment for the Arts, the future remains unclear as to what is in store for independent documentary films and public broadcasting.
› Continue reading
Man Behind the Muppet: Thursday on Independent Lens
The documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey airs Thursday on Independent Lens on PBS.
Watch Meet the Man Behind Elmo on PBS. See more from Independent Lens.
When Kevin Clash was a boy, he built his own puppets and staged shows for the neighborhood. Today, he is living his ultimate dream as the big man behind the little, furry Muppet Elmo on Sesame Street. Being Elmo premieres April 5 (and can be seen again on April 9) on PBS. Check local listings.
Ever wonder what is Elmo’s favorite food? Elmo himself answers after the jump! › Continue reading
IL Presents a Social Screening of You’re Looking at Me Like I Live Here and I Don’t
The event will take place online this Sunday, April 1 at 10AM PT / 1PM ET.
Join a social screening of You’re Looking At Me Like I Live Here And I Don’t, with a panel of Alzheimer’s experts and share your own stories about how you have been impacted by the disease.
The event, which takes place exclusively online, will feature special guests Scott Kirschenbaum, director/producer of the film; Dr. David Oliver, co-author of The Human Factor in Nursing Home Care; Dr. Steven Zweig, community medicine and hospice expert; and David Shenk, author of the seminal Alzheimer’s book, The Forgetting.
Participants can join for free by signing in with Facebook or directly on the site, interacting with other viewers and panelists in real-time, while watching the film.
Viewers can comment, ask questions, take polls, and even express their feelings about what they’re watching through a variety of tools on the site. This is an entirely new way of experiencing documentary films and it is inherently social.
› Continue reading
ITVS in the News
Coverage of ITVS from The New York Times and PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler.
The New York Times: PBS Agrees to Revisit Documentary Schedule
Under intense public pressure from independent documentary filmmakers, including a Twitter campaign, PBS on Thursday agreed to find a new home next season for the award-winning film series “Independent Lens” and “POV.” Continue Reading >>>
PBS.org: Independent Lens Brings a Focus on PBS
This comes under the heading of “nobody asked me, but . . .” Viewers have not written to me about recent scheduling changes that affect two major, long-running PBS series of independent documentary films — Independent Lens and POV, which stands for point of view. But the changes and the controversy they have stirred are getting a fair amount of attention in the press, at least in those segments that pay close attention to public broadcasting, within PBS and among independent filmmakers. So that makes it seem worthwhile for me to record the issues for readers of this column. Continue Reading >>>
ITVS in the News
Coverage of ITVS and Independent Lens from Monday’s edition of The New York Times.
The New York Times: PBS Shifts in Time Slots Hurts Series of Films
The home page of PBS.org in recent days has highlighted a new feature, the PBS Online Film Festival. But the prime-time schedule for PBS this television season has, in the eyes of some, effectively marginalized its two award-winning independent film series: “Independent Lens,” which started its new season last October, and “POV,” which will begin new episodes June 21. Continue Reading >>>
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
- #ILDocClub
- All Video
- Ask Programming
- Audio Podcasts
- Awards
- Community Cinema
- Community Classroom
- Exclusive
- Film Festivals
- Filmmaker Profile
- From the President's Desk
- FUTURESTATES
- Global Voices
- Half the Sky
- In the News
- Independent Lens
- Indie Roundup
- Inside Indies
- Institutional Updates
- ITVS Broadcasts
- ITVS Deep Dive
- ITVS Funding
- ITVS indie roundup
- ITVS Indies Showcase
- ITVS International
- Live Chat
- Minority Consortia
- New Online
- On the Road
- Producer Resources
- Public Media
- Recently Funded
- Social Media
- Social Screening
- Special Events
- Talkback
- Uncategorized
- Women and Girls Lead
Related sites
Film Blogs
Public Media Blogs
-
Get the Beyond the Box e-newsletter, sent monthly with the latest news about ITVS, funding opportunities and more. Enter your email and sign up.
-
Sign up for the Independent Lens newsletter. Get news once a week during the broadcast season (fall-spring).