PBS

Interrupter Ameena Matthews Handles Stephen Colbert

Featured in the ITVS-funded documentary The Interrupters, Ameena Matthews gave a powerful performance on Wednesday’s edition of the Colbert Report. The documentary, by acclaimed director Steve James, will premiere on PBS’s FRONTLINE on February 14.

The film takes a look at a group of men and women — most of them former gang leaders and ex-cons — that are trying to “interrupt” shootings and protect their communities from the violence they once employed. Watch the trailer for the The Interrupters below:
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Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 All Video, In the News, ITVS Broadcasts No Comments

ITVS Heads into High Gear for Black History Month

By Sally Jo Fifer, President & CEO of ITVS

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.
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Filmmakers of “The House I Live In” Respond to Sundance Premiere

By Steve Goldbloom, Reporting for PBS and BTB at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival

The House I Live In premiered last weekend at the Sundance Film Festival. The film weaves together director Eugene Jarecki’s personal narrative with America’s war on drugs. Here, producers including Sam Cullman, Melinda Shopsin, Danny Glover, and director Eugene Jarecki — reflect on the film and its Sundance premiere.

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Independent Lens Announces Winter/Spring 2012 Season

Hosted by Mary-Louise Parker, the Independent Lens Winter/Spring  lineup includes the award-winning films We Were Here, Hell and Back Again, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, and more

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.”
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Independent Lens Celebrates Hollywood Classics

The Librarian of Congress, with input from the public and advice from the National Film Preservation Board, selects 25 films each year to add to the Registry. These Amazing Shadows goes behind the scenes to show the discussions, the debates, and the drama that surround this selection process.

Watch These Amazing Shadows, by filmmakers Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton, Thursday on PBS.

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Thursday, December 29th, 2011 #ILDocClub, All Video, Independent Lens No Comments

Up Next on IL: These Amazing Shadows

Independent Lens Founding Series Producer Lois Vossen sets up filmmakers Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton’s documentary, These Amazing Shadows, which premieres on Thursday, December 29 on PBS. The documentary weaves clips from America’s most-beloved films with moving personal tales of how specific films have reflected our culture and changed lives.

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Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 Independent Lens No Comments

Happy Holidays from Mary-Louise Parker and Independent Lens

The award-winning actress offers best wishes and holiday greetings on behalf of everyone from Independent Lens.

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Friday, December 23rd, 2011 All Video, Independent Lens No Comments

Filmmaker Discusses The Woodmans

Filmmaker C. Scott Willis sat down with BTB earlier this year in San Francisco to discuss his documentary The Woodmans. The film offers an inspiring portrait of one family’s fall and redemption in the often brutal world of art and premieres Thursday, December 22 on Independent Lens.

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Paula Kerger Celebrates The Arts on Independent Lens

PBS President & CEO Paula Kerger pays tribute to Independent Lens’s continued commitment to the arts. The Emmy Award-winning series will feature two arts-focused documentaries this month, beginning this week with The Woodmans, followed by These Amazing Shadows on December 29.

Watch the trailers after the jump.
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Monday, December 19th, 2011 All Video, Independent Lens, Public Media No Comments

ITVS Picks Up Honors at IDA Awards

The IDA Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in documentary filmmaking and on Friday in Los Angeles the ITVS-funded Better This World collected the prize for Best Music. Plus, ITVS’s longstanding partner POV earned Best Continuing Series — a well deserved recognition for their 25 year commitment to independently produced documentary filmmaking.

Additional honors went to filmmaker Danfung Dennis (Hell and Back Again), who received the Jacqueline Donnet Award, which recognizes filmmakers who have made a significant impact at the beginning of his or her career in documentary film. See the complete list of winners here.
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