Independent Lens Honors Black History at TCA

At this year’s Television Critics Association, Independent Lens announced three new films that examine the history of African American activism and produced a panel including legendary activist Angela Davis and artist Talib Kweli. Watch the video below to see some of the icons and artists who joined Independent Lens in recognizing African American history at this year’s TCA Press Tour in Los Angeles.

Lois Vossen (IL), Sharon La Cruise (Daisy Bates), Dr. Angela Davis and Talib Kweli (The Black Power Mixtape), Michael Jones (COO of PBS), and Shukree Hassan Tilghman (More Than a Month)

Independent Lens begins its celebration of Black History Month on PBS with Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, which premiers on February 2. The film follows the seven-year journey of filmmaker Sharon La Cruise to learn about the mostly forgotten civil rights activist Daisy Bates.
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Tags: angela davis, Black History Month, black power mixtape, Daisy Bates, Independent Lens, More Than a Month, Press Tour, talib kweli, tca

ITVS in the News

A sampling of coverage from the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, and more …

Independent Lens launched a slate of films on black history at the Winter Press Tour in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Times: Black History Month: A celebration with mixed feelings on PBS
The celebration of Black History Month on PBS’s Independent Lens will include a film that is highly critical of the annual February observance of African American history.

Boston Globe: “Hell and Back Again,” presents war flashbacks from different perspectives
With some documentaries, you can feel the filmmakers hit a wall. They have a great subject – the war in Afghanistan, say – and they have a point to make or an angle to pursue. But, despite the proliferation of talking heads, they can’t find a style or a voice. The heads talk, but the movie doesn’t speak. Danfung Dennis doesn’t appear to have a limit.
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Tags: Black History Month, Independent Lens, Los Angeles, tca

Independent Lens Leads PBS’s Black History Month

The lineup will include three new critically acclaimed documentaries in February: Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, More Than a Month, and The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 — featuring the legendary activist and scholar Dr. Angela Davis.

In February 2012, Independent Lens will lead the celebration of Black History Month on public television with premieres of three new documentaries that shine a unique light on the history of African American activism, with one provocatively re-examining of the whole idea of Black History Month.
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Tags: activism, angela davis, Black History Month, black power mixtape, civil rights, Daisy Bates, More Than a Month, tca

Live Coverage of PBS at TCA Press Tour

This weekend, PBS will present some of this year’s lineup at the TCA Press Tour in Los Angeles. BTB is at The Beverly Hilton and will be relaying updates from the conference in a series of live posts.

Tags: American Masters, Being Elmo, Cameron Crowe, Critics, digital, Independent Lens, ITVS, Los Angeles, PBS, Pearl Jam, Press Tour, tca

Art Films from Independent Lens on Display at TCA

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child is one of the art films on display this weekend at TCA

This weekend, Independent Lens will prominently feature three art-related programs at the Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour in Pasadena, California.

Building on the system-wide arts programming initiative led by PBS, the panel presentation represents three of four films to premiere in April 2011 on Independent Lens as part of Artist Month.

Have a look at the films on display this weekend at TCA below…

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
By filmmaker Tamra Davis
Airs on Independent Lens April 12 at 10 PM

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Tags: basquiat, Independent Lens, Los Angeles, marwencol, Press Tour, radiant child, tca, waste land

New Independent Lens Season Unveiled in L.A.

Lois Vossen, series producer for Independent Lens, reports from the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Los Angeles.

Hello from the Television Critics Association (TCA) Summer Press Tour. The TCA represents 200 journalists who write about television for print and online outlets in the U.S. and Canada. Twice a year, they gather in what Tim Goodman, TV writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, refers to as a “death march with cocktails.” It’s two weeks holed up in a swanky hotel in Los Angeles to see what’s coming to television. PBS invites series to present during the two days that PBS is showcased.

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Tags: Bhutto, docs, documentary, Independent Lens, indie films, ITVS, PBS, Press Tour, public television, tca