PBS's INDEPENDENT LENS Wins Award for Best Curated Series

The award-winning documentary anthology series INDEPENDENT LENS, which airs weekly on PBS and is presented by ITVS, was awarded Best Curated Series at the 37th Annual IDA Documentary Awards at a virtual ceremony held this evening (March 4). An additional ITVS-backed title, "Whirlybird," was previously announced as the winner of the 37th Annual IDA Awards' ABC News VideoSource Award.

Lois Vossen, Executive Producer of Independent Lens, said: "With each season of INDEPENDENT LENS, our aim is to curate a collection of diverse documentaries that not only illuminate universal challenges through deeply personal stories, but also show the possibility for progress despite the systemic challenges that persist. We are so lucky to work with filmmakers who are extraordinarily brave and tenacious in their pursuit of these stories to try to change the world we live in for the better. That is the beauty of documentary storytelling - it has the power not only to educate and entertain but also to spark change. We thank the IDA for this honor and we share it with our filmmakers who allow us to build such a powerful slate of films each season."

PBS has aired INDEPENDENT LENS for over two decades, as a home for ​​documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. The award-winning weekly series features new independent documentaries each week from the fall through late spring, many of which are co-funded and co-produced by ITVS, public media's leading incubator and presenter of independent film.

INDEPENDENT LENS has long been a platform that champions underdog, independent documentaries, many of which, like the recently critically acclaimed film "Writing with Fire," become Oscar contenders. The Oscar-nominated doc will make its television debut on INDEPENDENT LENS March 28, 2022. "Hale County This Morning, This Evening" (2019) and "I Am Not Your Negro" (2017) are examples of previous Oscar-nominated films that made their television debut on INDEPENDENT LENS, and were also backed by ITVS.

Just over a year ago, INDEPENDENT LENS launched its Stories For Justice public media partnership to highlight bold storytelling about racial inequities in systems across America and help boost the work of people on the front lines of justice reform. Stories for Justice debuted last year with the critically acclaimed INDEPENDENT LENS original series "Philly D.A."

Since 1984, the IDA Documentary Awards have recognized a diverse range of emerging and established filmmakers, and expanded to include recognition of artistic direction, audio documentaries, documentary journalism and music documentaries, as well as individual honors such as the Courage Under Fire Award and Career Achievement Award.

ABOUT INDEPENDENT LENS:

INDEPENDENT LENS is an Emmy® Award-winning weekly series airing on PBS, Monday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET. The acclaimed series, with Lois Vossen as executive producer, features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by ITVS, the series is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding from PBS, Acton Family Giving, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more visit pbs.org/independentlens. Join the conversation: facebook.com/independentlens and on Twitter @IndependentLens.

ABOUT ITVS:

ITVS is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that has, for over 25 years, funded and partnered with a diverse range of documentary filmmakers to produce and distribute untold stories. ITVS incubates and co-produces these award-winning films, and then airs them for free on PBS via our weekly series, INDEPENDENT LENS, as well as on other PBS series, and through our digital platform, OVEE. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The National Endowment for the Humanities: American Rescue Plan, Acton Family Giving, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and Wyncote Foundation. For more information, visit itvs.org.