Independent Lens
Women & Girls Lead Us Into Women’s History Month
Women and Girls Lead kicks off Women’s History Month with a new website, an online film festival, and three high-profile events honoring International Women’s Day.
The Women and Girls Lead public media initiative is celebrating Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day in style with a whole new set of activities to engage audiences on multiple platforms. Today, Women and Girls Lead unveiled their new dynamic campaign website. Featuring an interactive video mosaic, the website offers an array of short video content including profiles of women in leadership roles in communities nationwide, and interviews with luminaries and leading scholars.
“Women’s History Month is an important time for public media to call attention to the important work of women and girl leaders worldwide,” said Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of CPB and Advisory Board Chair of Women and Girls Lead. “It is also a time for us to rise to the challenge to ensure that these stories reach audiences every day of the year. Women and Girls Lead offers an important model for public media to serve its mission in the 21st century.”
› Continue reading
ITVS Picks Up Two Independent Spirit Awards
ITVS-funded The Interrupters and Where Soldiers Come From were among the night’s big winners at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards.
The Independent Spirit Awards celebrate the spirited pioneers who bring a unique vision to the world of independent filmmaking. This past weekend Where Soldiers Come From picked up the Truer Than Fiction award, while The Interrupters won Best Documentary.
The Independent Spirit Awards took place on Saturday, February 25th in Los Angeles, CA. Click here for a complete list of winners.
Please join us in congratulating the filmmakers!
Late Night Oscar Diaries from Independent Lens
Independent Lens Series Producer Lois Vossen attended Sunday night’s Academy Awards in Los Angeles. She was there to support two nominated films for Best Documentary feature: Independent Lens’ Hell and Back Again and the ITVS-funded If a Tree Falls (which aired on POV). The documentary Undefeated wound up taking the prize. Still, Lois had a blast and as the evening came to a close, she phoned in (literally) this recap via the BTB hotline. Here are the highlights….
Hi there! Well it was a great night. The debate is on whether or not Billy Crystal was funny and whether or not the show was well paced.
As we were leaving, I ran into Wim Wenders who made Pina and I went over and spoke with him and he said “I’m very, very sorry that Hell and Back Again lost because it was a magnificent film and I would have been honored to have lost to Hell and Back Again, honored!” So I introduced him to Fiona Otway who edited the film.
› Continue reading
ITVS Puts the ‘Independent’ in the Independent Spirit Awards
The Interrupters, Where Soldiers Come From, We Were Here, and Hell and Back Again were among the documentaries nominated for this year’s Independent Spirit Awards.
A still from Hell and Back Again by filmmaker Danfung Dennis
With the Academy Awards right around the corner, it is important to remember that the Independent Spirit Awards are also this weekend. ITVS has four films nominated, The Interrupters and We Were Here are up for Best Doc, with Hell and Back Again and Where Soldiers Come From in the Truer Than Fiction category.
The Independent Spirit Awards take place on Saturday, February 25th. Click here for more information.
Join ITVS in congratulating all the filmmakers and check out the trailers after the jump.
› Continue reading
Ousted Maldives President Speaks Out on NPR
Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed appeared on Morning Edition this week. Nasheed was forced to resign earlier this month in what he referred to as a coup, a claim his successor denies. He is featured in the documentary The Island President, which will air next season on Independent Lens.
The Island President will air next season on Independent Lens
Listen to NPR’s Morning Edition interview after the jump:
› Continue reading
Live Online Screening of The Interrupters
Kartemquin Films, PBS Frontline, and ITVS invite you to join the filmmakers and subjects of The Interrupters for a special live, online “social screening” of the film beginning at 5:30PM PT / 8:30PM ET. Follow this link to participate in the screening.
Watch The Interrupters Preview on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.
Participating in the screening will be the film’s producers Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz, and violence interrupter Cobe Williams. More participants are still to be confirmed.
› Continue reading
Filmmakers of The Island President Respond to Turmoil in the Maldives
Director Jon Shenk and producers Bonni Cohen and Richard Berge offered a response to the ongoing political crisis in the Maldives and this week’s unexpected resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed. Their documentary The Island President will air next season on Independent Lens.
The Island President will air next season on Independent Lens
Yesterday morning we woke up to the shocking news that President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives had resigned his office under duress. According to news reports and local sources, Nasheed faced the choice of using the military to quell a violent demonstration or stepping down to avoid bloodshed. In line with his long history of peaceful activism, he chose the latter.
› Continue reading
If Angela Davis Had Twitter, Way Back When…
Dr. Angela Davis reflects on how social media may have aided her activist pursuits in the 1960s. She is featured in The Black Power Mixtape, which airs this Thursday on Independent Lens. The clip is part of a larger interview conducted by PBS NEWSHOUR’s Hari Sreenivasan and produced by ITVS.
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.
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).
Filmmaker Sharon La Cruise Discusses Daisy Bates Biopic with Hari Sreenivasan
The documentary Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock will air Thursday, February 2 on Independent Lens to kick off Black History Month. Recently, PBS NEWSHOUR’s Hari Sreenivasan caught up with filmmaker Sharon La Cruise to discuss the project.
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
- 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).