Independent Lens Information & Independent Lens Links at HealthHaven.com

Independent Lens
Genre	Documentary, Drama, Comedy
Presented by	Maggie Gyllenhaal
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	173 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Sally Jo Fifer
Producer(s)	Lois Vossen
Running time	60-90 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	PBS
Original run	August 9, 1999 – Present
External links
	Official website
	Production website

Airing weekly on PBS through ITVS, the Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens introduces new drama and documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Independent Lens films vary in length from four-minute comic shorts and half-hour experimental pieces to hour-long dramas and feature-length documentaries. Past seasons of Independent Lens have been presented by hosts Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, and Terrence Howard. The current host is Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The series began in 1999 and for three years aired 10 episodes each fall season. In 2002, PBS announced that in 2003 the series would relaunch and expand to 29 primetime episodes a year.^[1] With the relaunch of the series, now curated by ITVS, the season count had reset and so what would otherwise have been the fourth season was now being referred to as the first.^[2] Despite this change, episodes were still being numbered with respect to the first three seasons.

Independent Lens has won four Emmy Awards. In 2007, A Lion in the House won for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking, and A Lion's Trail won in 2006 for Outstanding Cultural and Artistic Programming. Two other films won for Best Documentary: Be Good, Smile Pretty in 2004, and Sing Faster: The Stagehands' Ring Cycle in 2000. As well, two Independent Lens films garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2006) and The Weather Underground (2004).

[edit] Episode listing

Main article: List of Independent Lens films

[edit] The Independent Lens Online Shorts Festival

In 2006, the series launched the first Independent Lens Online Shorts Festival with what Yahoo! Picks called a "lineup of quirky, charming, and sometimes nervy films." Independent filmmakers were invited to submit short films, ten minutes or less in length. Ten films were chosen, including two grand-prize winners that premiered on the television series. All films are streamed on the PBS website.

Grand-prize winners: "Paris, 1951" and "Someday Flowers Bloom"
Jury prize: "Homeless Karaoke"
Online winners: "Afloat", "Chickens in the City", "Devil's Teeth", "La Fe'e Rouge", "Leonard & the Mountain", "The McCombie Way", and "The Preacher and the Poet"

[edit] Audience Award

Independent Lens gives out an annual Audience Award. The TV viewing audience is invited to rate each episode of the series (through online voting), and an award is given to each season's winner.^[3] Winners of the Audience Award have included:^[4]

2008 Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula
2007 China Blue
2006 The Devil's Miner
2005 On a Roll
2004 Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew
2003 Heart of the Sea

[edit] See also

P.O.V.
Wide Angle

[edit] References

^ "'Independent Lens' From ITVS Re-Launches; Expands to 29 Weeks". 2002-07-26. Archived from the original on 2002-08-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20020803102104/http://www.itvs.org/pressroom/pressRelease.htm?pressId=143.
^ "Oscar-Nominated Actress To Do On-Air Introductions Of The First Season, Featuring 14 Diverse New Documentaries". 2002-12-13. Archived from the original on 2003-02-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20030219214321/itvs.org/pressroom/pressRelease.htm?pressId=163.
^ Kevin Allman, "Independent Lens at Five", Beyond the Box Online, vol. 28 (Winter/Spring 2007).
^ Independent Lens - About the Audience Award (retrieved June 3, 2009).

[edit] External links

[0] "'Independent Lens' From ITVS Re-Launches; Expands to 29 Weeks". 2002-07-26. Archived from the original on 2002-08-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20020803102104/http://www.itvs.org/pressroom/pressRelease.htm?pressId=143.

[1] "Oscar-Nominated Actress To Do On-Air Introductions Of The First Season, Featuring 14 Diverse New Documentaries". 2002-12-13. Archived from the original on 2003-02-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20030219214321/itvs.org/pressroom/pressRelease.htm?pressId=163.

[2] Kevin Allman, "Independent Lens at Five", Beyond the Box Online, vol. 28 (Winter/Spring 2007).

[3] Independent Lens - About the Audience Award (retrieved June 3, 2009).

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