News

If not already apparent, the Covid-19 pandemic of recent years—and its subsequent global economic impact—has shone a spotlight on just how precarious most American lives actually are, whether publicly or behind closed doors.

It’s debatable whether anyone truly works a billion dollars hard or smart, yet wealth continues to amass in the hands of an obnoxious mega-rich elite, leaving most of us one bad day away from complete financial ruin. That is, if we don’t already exist in a chronic state of economic depression to begin with. But our democracy (and tax dollars!) provides guardrails against such dire domestic predicaments, right? Well, in theory…

In practice, however, the US welfare system is under constant threat from within—the kneecapping of government assistance programs becoming a reliable wedge issue for compounding generations of conservative politics.

Then again, there’s an equally influential history of civil rights advocates...

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Independent Lens — PBS’ long-running, Emmy-winning documentary anthology series — has announced its programming lineup for its winter season.

FBI informant Ernest Withers, the U.S. reparations debate and a secret female-only language invented 400 years ago in China are among the subjects of the feature docs, all presented by Itvs. Children of Las Brisas from Marianela Maldonado will kick off the slate on Jan. 2; it follows three children from the impoverished Las Brisas neighborhood in Venezuela in their quest to become professional musicians.

“The films debuting this winter on Independent Lens take us to small towns across the U.S. and around the world to China and Venezuela,” said executive producer Lois Vossen. “We learn the history of a secret language, the overlooked history of queer comics, trace the ongoing movement for reparations to African Americans and meet exceptional community builders whose stories are being...

Fork Films, a New York production company co-founded by Abigail Disney, has announced 11 grantees for its 2021 round of documentary funding. Topics explored in the slate of films include social justice, the impact of the pandemic on historically marginalized communities, climate gentrification and maternal mortality.

The company has funded over 100 projects over 14 years, adding up to over $4.5 million in documentary grants and support. With an aim to elevate justice-driven filmmakers, Fork Films has funded critically acclaimed projects in the past such as “Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen,” “One Child Nation,” “Cameraperson,” “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution,” “Strong Island,” “The Square” and “The Invisible War.”

This year, along with financial support, Fork Films is offering grantees the opportunity to participate in workshops titled Collective Lens: An Impact Roadmap led by nonprofit organization Peace is Loud. The workshops will cover impact producing strategies, building campaigns and designing distribution plans with impact in mind...