Blog

Colorado 2020 Electors with CO Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, they are all wearing protective face masks and stand on the steps of the capitol in Denver.
Beyond the Films

September 18, 2024

America’s Electoral College: Six Surprising Facts About the Who and How

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Bianca Beyrouti Every four years, the U.S. Presidential election revives a similarly lively, if increasingly tense, discussion about the Electoral College, namely its function and impact.  As we find…...

Minted

An insider’s look at the rise and fall of the NFT (non-fungible token) phenomenon and how technology transformed the traditional art world, for better and worse. Featuring verité footage and candid interviews with groundbreaking artists—like Beeple, Latasha Alcindor, and Loish— at the center of this phenomenon, Minted delves into the… Read More

Free For All: The Public Library

Free For All: Inside the Public Library tells the story of the quiet revolutionaries who made a simple idea happen. From the pioneering women behind the “Free Library Movement” to today’s librarians who service the public despite working in a contentious age of closures and book bans, meet those who… Read More

Wild Hogs and Saffron

A wild hog hunt in the Ozarks leads to an unexpectedly vulnerable dialogue between Iranian American filmmaker Andy Sarjahani and his childhood friend Bubba as they navigate a polarized world. As their paths diverged in the increasingly anti-Middle Eastern years after 9/11, Andy’s journey of self-examination tries to… Read More

One Person, One Vote?

At a time when many Americans question democratic institutions, One Person, One Vote? unveils the complexities of the Electoral College, the uniquely American and often misunderstood mechanism for electing a president. The documentary follows four presidential electors representing different parties in Colorado during the intense 2020 election. Read More

A man with medium-dark skin tone and a large black mustache poses with a shovel in a sparse forest. He wears a thick sweatshirt, hat, and knee-high boots.
Beyond the Films

April 01, 2024

Temporary Farm Workers by the Numbers: How Do They Make Ends Meet?

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Ivonne Spinoza From working hard jobs for extremely low wages to being separated from their families for up to 10 months at a time, the sacrifices and challenges seem…...

holding bodies: a justice anthology

The three-part holding bodies: a justice anthology uses personal experiences of arrest, pretrial detention, and incarceration to reconsider the intention, design, and process of America’s justice system. Read More

The Roh family trek through the jungle at night.
Interviews

January 05, 2024

What Happens to Your Family When You Escape North Korea, and Other Harrowing Tales from Beyond Utopia

Craig Phillips in Beyond the Films

The harrowing, riveting documentary Beyond Utopia, captures what life is like for refugees after escaping North Korea. What happens to the family you left behind? How hard is it to…...

Beyond Utopia

They grew up believing their land was paradise. Now, they risk everything in escaping it. In an unforgettable documentary, follow families on a treacherous journey to defect from their homeland of North Korea, as the threat of severe punishment and possible execution looms over their passage, revealing a world many… Read More

A man in a US military uniform with dark skin tone stands beside a woman with medium skin tone wearing a denim jacket and white hijab. Other soldiers stand in the background and foreground.
Beyond the Films

November 06, 2023

The Complex Role and Diverse Array of Chaplains in the Military

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Ivonne Spinoza When you hear the term chaplain, if you're not in the military, what usually comes to mind? It could be a pop culture reference, like Father Mulcahy…...

A child with medium skin tone and dark hair, looking downcast, sits with his arms and head resting on a table full of food.
Interviews

September 25, 2023

“Your Story Makes You Strong”: Sansón, an Incarcerated Man, Watches His Life as Documentary Reenactment

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

By Craig Phillips with Rodrigo Reyes and Sansón & Me team  The life story of a young man serving life in prison for murder, Sansón and Me is told through…...