Newly Contracted: ITVS Announces Funding for The Truth Will Set You Free

The documentary, by filmmakers Macky Alston and Sandra Itkoff, explores issues of faith, love, marriage, homosexuality, and the Episcopal Church — focusing on the first openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

“The agents of change in America are the folks who I know to watch PBS,” said director Macky Alston when asked about why public media was the right fit for the documentary. Hear more from the filmmakers of The Truth Will Set You Free in the exclusive ITVS Production interview below.

 Learn more about ITVS funding opportunities here.

Tags: christianity, ITVS, macky alston, PBS, public media, religion, sandra itkoff, the truth will set you free

Filmmaker’s Documentary Examines Cult Behavior

Filmmaker Vangie Griego explains why her documentary God Willing was destined for Public Television. The film airs this April, check local listings.

Making God Willing was my educational journey to understand why my nephew, Daniel Garcia and young people like him, make the radical choice to abandon their former lives and families to join the Jim Roberts’ Group — a highly secretive and nomadic group who believe they are the only ones on the true path to salvation.

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Tags: god willing, public television, religion, the church

The Calling Wraps Up Tonight on Independent Lens

Part two of The Calling airs Tuesday night on Independent Lens

Part two of The Calling airs tonight on Independent Lens (check local listings).

The two part PBS miniseries, which follows seven Muslims, Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Jews on a dramatic journey as they train to become professional clergy, had its broadcast premiere on Monday night.

Series Director and Executive Producer of The Calling Danny Alpert offered BTB his thoughts on how young people today choose to embrace faith compared to previous generations.

Watch the final installment of The Calling tonight on Independent Lens. › Continue reading

Tags: documentary, faith, Independent Lens, ITVS, religion, the calling

Tonight on Independent Lens: Part 1 of The Calling

Filmmaker Danny Alpert

The PBS miniseries The Calling premieres tonight on Independent Lens (check local listings). The documentary by a team of directors and led by Series Director and Executive Producer Danny Alpert, follows seven Muslims, Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Jews on a dramatic journey as they train to become professional clergy.

Enjoy this clip from The Calling below and tune into the broadcast tonight.

A few months back, filmmaker Danny Alpert dropped by the ITVS headquarters in San Francisco and spoke with BTB about his film. › Continue reading

Tags: documentary, faith, Independent Lens, ITVS, miniseries, religion, the calling

Weaving a Rich Tapestry for The Calling

Filmmaker Danny Alpert

Filmmaker Danny Alpert sheds light on the team responsible for the upcoming PBS miniseries The Calling, which airs December 20 and 21 on Independent Lens (check local listings). On Thursday, December 9, from 5:30pm PT / 8:30pm ET join Independent Lens, WTTW, and the Art Institute of Chicago for an exclusive social media screening of The Calling on the Independent Lens Facebook fan page or on our Livestream channel before it airs on PBS.

I’ve been working on The Calling for so long that last week I went back to investigate when it was actually started.  What I found made me laugh — the first concept development draft was dated December 20, 2002 — exactly eight years to the day before the broadcast date.

This has been a huge undertaking.  › Continue reading

Tags: calling, Chicago, events, faith, Independent Lens, religion, the calling

Faith in America: What’s Your Calling?

The Calling will air on Independent Lens in December

With the chambers of Congress divided and the ominous-sounding T.V. spots discontinued, one campaign is just starting to take flight.

The Calling, which will air on Independent Lens in two parts on December 20 & 21, has launched an online initiative titled whatsyourcalling.org.

From tug-boat artists to jazz musicians, the What’s Your Calling campaign has conducted a host of interviews to find out what kinds of service people have been called to with their lives and how they hope to change the world.

Check out their introductory video below…

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Tags: community cinema, danny alpert, faith, Independent Lens, religion, the calling

Scenes From a Parish Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens

“[Scenes From a Parish] unfolds in a series of incredibly diverse personal stories as both O’Brien and his fractious flock struggle to hold fast to their faith in the face of dire circumstances.”
- Chicago Tribune

When a young, irreverent priest arrives at Saint Patrick Parish in Lawrence, Massachusetts, he discovers the unexpected––boiling ethnic tensions in a changing working-class community. Filmed over four years, the film follows the diverse personal stories of Father Paul O’Brien and his unruly flock as they struggle to hold onto faith in the face of desperate circumstances.

Scenes From a Parish premieres tonight, December 29, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

Tags: Catholic, immigrants, Massachusetts, online video, religion