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INDIE LENS POP-UP LAUNCHES NEW SEASON OF SNEAK PEEK SCREENINGS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TEANECK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AND THE PUFFIN CULTURAL FORUM

 

National Screening Series Returns With Sneak Previews of INDEPENDENT LENS Documentaries Followed By Community-Driven Conversations 

 

(San Francisco, CA) December 12, 2023—INDEPENDENT LENS announced today the launch of the new season of Indie Lens Pop-Up, the long-running community screening series that has brought people together for community-driven conversations around its thought-provoking documentaries. The screening series will feature both in-person and virtual events in more than 40 cities across the U.S.


Through its roster of four documentary projects this season, Indie Lens Pop-Up will ignite conversations on a range of topics impacting communities around the U.S., climate gentrification, and race and gender equity in mainstream media. This season’s topics also aim to expand perspectives through deeply personal stories, like what it means to live with Parkinson’s disease, and how the Deaf and hard of hearing community redefine what it means to listen. Each film will make its television debut on INDEPENDENT LENS, PBS’s award-winning documentary anthology series, and will be available to stream on the PBS App.


The 2023-2024 Indie Lens Pop-Up lineup includes the following documentaries:

  • Katja Esson’s “Razing Liberty Square” chronicles a public housing community in Miami that becomes ground zero for climate gentrification.

  • “Breaking the News” from filmmakers Heather Courtney, Princess A. Hairston, Chelsea Hernandez, and Diane M Quon sheds light on a group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists who launch The 19th*, a news startup bucking the status quo.

  • “Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s” from filmmakers Anna Moot-Levin and Laura Green follows three people as they navigate their lives, with resourcefulness and determination, in the face of a degenerative illness, Parkinson’s disease.

  • To close out the Indie Lens Pop-Up season, “The Tuba Thieves” from hard of hearing filmmaker Alison O'Daniel is an exploration of musicality set against a theft. 

“These Indie Lens Pop-Up Screenings are what makes INDEPENDENT LENS so unique—not only do we get to premiere these films on public media, but through this national screening series, we are able to inspire meaningful conversations on the ground in local communities across the U.S.,” said Beatriz Castillo, senior director of engagement operations at ITVS. “Through our screenings, we hope people from all facets of life find themselves in these films, and encourage everyone to share their stories and engage in thoughtful conversations in a safe, inclusive environment.” 

Indie Lens Pop-Up events provide a space to watch and discuss timely issues explored in its award-winning documentaries. Hundreds of these events are hosted in-person and virtually by partners across the nation. Since its inception in 2005, more than 7,000 Indie Lens Pop-Up events have brought an estimated 420,000 participants together to discuss issues that impact local communities.

Jeremy Lentz, Executive Director of The Teaneck International Film Festival, "is proud to launch our fourth virtual season of Indie Lens Pop-Up in partnership with The Puffin Cultural Forum and NJ PBS. These films empower our community to come together and talk about topics that might be otherwise difficult to discuss with one another. With this continued partnership, we’re not only able to watch films from the award-winning INDEPENDENT LENS series, but we also create open, safe forums to talk about important issues affecting our neighborhoods today, hopefully providing useful resources for those who need them.  We are also proud to work with our local NJ PBS affiliate on showcasing a new season of the NJ 21 short series which spotlights local stories from New Jersey's 21 diverse counties.  These shorts will be paired with the INDEPENDENT LENS feature films.  The screenings are free and virtual which means you can watch from the comfort of your home anywhere in the United States.  You can sign up for the screenings through our website at TeaneckFilmFestival.org"

2024 Documentary Series Schedule

  • Wednesday, January 24th at 7:30 pm EST: Razing Liberty Square

  • Wednesday, February 28th at 7:30 pm EST: Breaking the News

  • Wednesday, March 27th at 7:30 pm EST: Matter of the Mind: My Parkinson’s

  • Wednesday, May 1st at 7:30 pm EST: The Tuba Thieves

2023 Documentary Series Schedule

  • Wednesday, February 8th at 7:30pm ET: Love in the Time of Fentanyl/21: Mercer County | Watch talkback

  • Wednesday, March 15th at 7:30pm ET: Storming Caesars Palace/21: Bergen County | Watch tallkback

  • Wednesday, April 19th at 7:30pm ET: Free Chol Soo Lee/21: Cumberland County | Watch talkback

2022 Documentary Series Schedule

2021 Documentary Series Schedule

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