Recent Talkback About Independent Lens

From Stephen Walker’s critical and box office smash Young@Heart to an in-depth look behind the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, this season Independent Lens is rolling out a powerful selection of films that cover a wide range of issues related to the music industry. Check out some of the recent Talkback from viewers about films airing this month.

Young@Heart

“I watched the documentary, Young@Heart, last week and was quite moved. The director has given a great gift to the people of North Hampton and around the world.”
Posted by: Roger Millnitz on January 17, 2010

“I am 51 and hope I have the vitality that these individuals do when I get up there in years. The one song that gets me every time is Fred’s tribute to Bob, ‘Fix You.’ It moves me every time.”
Posted by: Gail on January 17, 2010

“I am in my 70s and I loved this film. The segment where the group did a concert for the jail inmates young enough to be their grandchildren was just so touching to me that it brought tears to my eyes…”
Posted by: Christina on January 18, 2010

View more Talkback and submit your own for Young@Heart >>

Interested in music programs? Learn more about our month-long celebration of music >>

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Tags: hip hop, music, music month, sampling, senior citizens

Video Interview with Bob Cilman and Steve Martin of Young@Heart

Bob Cilman, the director of the Young@Heart Chorus, and Steve Martin, a chorus member, stopped by the ITVS offices yesterday — on the day of the television premiere of Young@Heart on Independent Lens on PBS.

In the video below, they talk about what it was like to participate in screenings across the country as part Community Cinema and what they hope people will take away from the television broadcast.

This month, Community Cinema is presenting Garbage Dreams, which follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo.

Learn more and find screenings near you >>

Even if you’re not a senior citizen yourself, chances are you’ve crossed paths with an older person who shattered all of your assumptions about what it is to be “old.” Share your inspirational stories of aging. Upload video, photographs, and text. Share your story >>

Tags: aging, music, senior citizens

Young@Heart Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS

“[Young@Heart] offers an encouraging vision of old age in which the depression commonly associated with decrepitude is held at bay by music making, camaraderie and a sense of humor.”
- The New York Times

We’re kicking off a month dedicated to music on Independent Lens –– four films in four weeks about the power of music to shape and enhance our lives. Tune in tonight to rock with the most entertaining golden oldies you will ever meet in the senior citizen’s chorus Young@Heart. With a show only weeks away, they must learn a slate of new songs ranging from James Brown to Coldplay. The chorus’s director leads them through tough rehearsals, proving that rock and roll can be hard work — especially if you’re hard of hearing! Climaxing in a triumphant performance, their inspiring story celebrates the unbreakable bonds of friendship and the life-affirming power of music.

Young@Heart premieres tonight, January 12, at 9:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

Tags: aging, Coldplay, James Brown, music, senior citizens

In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs

“An airing of the heartwarming documentary Young@Heart … proves you’re never too old to rock…”
Read more >>

“Producers Benjamin Franzen and Kembrew McLeod [Copyright Criminals] craft a compelling and insightful documentary illuminating both sides of a hotly debated issue: Should the original artists get paid when someone samples their work?”
Read more >>

The New York Times recognizes Independent Lens for it’s contribution to some of the best television in 2009.
Read more >>

“Scenes from a Parish by James Rutenbeck on Independent Lens tells a very familiar New England story: the survival of a big urban Catholic church at a time of change.”
Read more >>

Tags: church, music, New York Times, senior citizens

Returning Home: Interactive Website to Honor American Soldiers

“It’s really a personal story not a political one. That goes for the greeters themselves as well. They have different views on the war, but their
main goal is to support the troops.”
— Aron Gaudet, director, THE WAY WE GET BY

On call for the past six years, a group of senior citizens have made history by greeting nearly one million U.S. troops at a tiny airport in Maine. THE WAY WE GET BY, an ITVS-funded documentary that aired last night on P.O.V., tells their uplifting and emotional journey and demonstrates the meaning of community at a time when America needs it most.

Inspired by the film, Returning Home is a new interactive website that seeks to ensure that American soldiers, both newly returned and those whose service ended many years ago, are not forgotten. Returning Home provides a place to share thoughts, photos, video or audio and to find support. Like the Maine troop greeters featured in the film, the site will honor American soldiers as they return from duty, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Visit Returning Home and learn more >>

Missed last night’s broadcast? The program is now available online in its entirety until December 12 on PBS’s video portal. Watch now >>

Learn more about the online project in this video interview with filmmakers Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly and others involved in the project.

Tags: film resources, Maine, Military, P.O.V., senior citizens, soldiers, troop greeters

THE WAY WE GET BY Premiering Tonight on P.O.V.

“If you watch/record one thing this evening, I strongly recommend THE WAY WE GET BY, Aron Gaudet’s moving documentary…”
- USA Today

On call 24/7 for the past six years, three senior citizens have made history by greeting nearly one million U.S. troops at a tiny airport in Maine. Filled with unexpected turns, THE WAY WE GET BY tells their uplifting and emotional journey and demonstrates the meaning of community at a time when America needs it most.

THE WAY WE GET BY premieres tonight at 9:00 PM on P.O.V. on PBS (check local listings).
A co-production of ITVS in association with WGBH and Maine Public Broadcasting Network

Get the latest updates about the film and talk with others by using #wegetby on Twitter. Follow the film >>

The program will also stream online in its entirety starting tomorrow to December 12 on PBS’s video portal. Learn more >>

Tags: Maine, Military, P.O.V., senior citizens, soldiers, troop greeters