ITVS (Independent Television Service) is a service in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

which funds and presents documentaries on

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

through distribution by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

and

American Public Television American Public Television (APT) is an American nonprofit organization and syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States. It distributes public television programs nationwide for PBS member stations and indepen ...

, new media projects on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

, and the weekly series ''

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Ho ...

'' on PBS. Aside from Independent Lens, ITVS funded and produced films for more than 40 television hours per year on the PBS series POV, Frontline, American Masters and American Experience. Some ITVS programs are produced along with organizations like

Latino Public Broadcasting Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is a non-profit organization that is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with the purpose of addressing issues of cultural significance to the Latino population in the United States. It does this by ...

and KQED. Besides ''Independent Lens'', ITVS series include ''Indie Lens Storycast'' on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...

and ''Women of the World'' with Women and Girls Lead Global. Prior series include ''Global Voices'' (on

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

) and ''FutureStates''. ITVS is funded by the

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...

(CPB), and is based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. ITVS has funded more than 1,400 films, with an eye on diversity and underrepresented audiences and filmmakers. The organization champions inclusion on the screen and behind the camera: Nearly 70% of ITVS funds go to diverse producers, 50% to women.

History

ITVS was established through legislation by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

in 1988, “to expand the diversity and innovativeness of programming available to public broadcasting,” and began funding new programming via production licensing agreements in 1990. From 2005-2010, it expanded its reach through the creation of the Global Perspectives Project, which facilitated the international exchange of documentary films made by independent producers. In 2017, ITVS was named the recipient of a Peabody Institutional Award for its contributions to storytelling in television; the Peabody board of jurors cited "an accomplished range of work as rich as any broadcaster or funder," and in the same year the organization learned it was to receive the 2017 Emmy Governors Award chosen by the Television Academy Board of Governors, awarded during the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony on Saturday, September 9, 2017. ITVS has discovered and nurtured prominent filmmakers, including one of the first films by Oscar-winning director

Barry Jenkins Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film ''Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Indep ...

, who made a film. In 2015, ITVS created a new digital journalism initiative

Notable works

Among the prominent films funded by ITVS: *''

I Am Not Your Negro ''I Am Not Your Negro'' is a 2016 documentary film and social critique film essay directed by Raoul Peck, based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript '' Remember This House''. Narrated by actor Samuel L. Jackson, the film explores the histo ...

'' (Oscar-nominated film by Raoul Peck) *''

Meet the Patels ''Meet the Patels'' is a 2014 American romantic comedy documentary film directed by siblings Geeta V. Patel and Ravi V. Patel. The film explores the expectations surrounding marriage in the Patels' first-generation Indian immigrant family and in w ...

'' (Ravi and Geeta Patel) *'' TOWER'' (Keith Maitland) *''Newtown'' (Kim A. Snyder) *''The Force'' (Pete Nicks) *'' Dolores'' (Peter Bratt) *'' Best of Enemies'' (By Oscar-winner Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon) *'' Have You Heard From Johannesburg'' (Primetime Emmy Award winner by Connie Field) *''A Lion in the House'' (Primetime Emmy Award winner by Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar) *'' Brother to Brother'' (ITVS-funded drama by Rodney Evans, starring then-unknown

Anthony Mackie Anthony Dwane Mackie (born September 23, 1978) is an American actor. Mackie made his acting debut starring in the semi-biographical drama film '' 8 Mile'' (2002). He was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor for his per ...

)

Independent Lens

Since 1999, ITVS has produced

, a weekly television series airing on PBS presenting documentary films made by independent filmmakers. For the first three seasons Independent Lens 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. In 2017, ITVS announced Indie Lens Storycast, a free subscription-based docuseries channel on YouTube, co-produced with PBS Digital Studios. Storycast launched in September of that year with docuseries ''Iron Maidens'' and ''The F Word''. In addition, ITVS produces Indie Lens Pop-Up, formerly Community Cinema, an in-person series that brings people together for film screenings and community-driven conversations, featuring documentaries seen on Independent Lens.

Awards

32 ITVS films have won Peabody Awards, including ''

How to Survive a Plague ''How to Survive a Plague'' is a 2012 American documentary film about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, and the efforts of activist groups ACT UP and TAG. It was directed by David France, a journalist who covered AIDS from its beginnings. Fra ...

'' by David France; Marco Williams and Whitney Dow’s ''Two Towns of Jasper''; Leslee Udwin’s ''India’s Daughter''; and ''The Invisible War'' by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering. ITVS-Supported Peabody Winners *''Between the Folds'' *''Bhutto'' *''Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life'' *''Brakeless'' *''Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed'' *’’ Coming Out Under Fire’’ *''Craft in America'' *''Deej'' *'' Dolores'' *'' Don't Tell Anyone (No Le Digas a Nadie)'' *''Flag Wars'' *''The Gate of Heavenly Peace'' *''A Healthy Baby Girl'' *'' The House I Live In'' *''How to Survive a Plague

*'' India's Daughter'' *''The Invisible War'' *''The Judge'' *'' King Corn'' *''Latino Americans'' *''The Lord Is Not on Trial Here Today'' *''Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart'' *''Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita'' *''Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise'' *'' Minding the Gap'' *'' The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers'' *'' My Perestroika'' *''Newtown'' *''The Order of Myths'' *'' Park Avenue: Money, Power & the American Dream’’ *''Solar Mamas'' *'' Reel Injun'' *''A Room Nearby'' *''Sisters in Law'' *''Still Life with Animated Dogs'' *''Summer Pasture'' *''Travis'' *''Two Towns of Jasper'' *''Who Killed Chea Vichea?'' *'' Trapped'' ITVS-Supported News & Documentary Emmy Winners *'' Abacus: Small Enough to Jail'' *''Forever Pure'' *'' TOWER'' *''The Armor of Light'' *'' Thank You for Playing'' *''In Football We Trust'' *'' (T)error'' *'' Best of Enemies'' *''Promises'' *''School Prayer: A Community at War'' *''Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life'' *''Be Good, Smile Pretty'' *''

The Invisible War ''The Invisible War'' is a 2012 American documentary film written and directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering and Tanner King Barklow about sexual assault in the United States military. It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, ...

'' *'' Last Train Home'' *''Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience'' *''The Woodmans'' *'' Art & Copy'' *''The Homestretch'' *'' Medora'' *''Made in L.A.'' *''Where Soldiers Come From'' *''Blink'' *''A Lion's Trail'' *''

Detropia ''Detropia'' is a 2012 American documentary film, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, about the city of Detroit, Michigan. It focuses on the decline of the economy of Detroit due to long-term changes in the automobile industry, and the effec ...

'' *'' The Trials of Muhammad Ali'' *''Girls Like Us'' *''Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience'' *''When I Walk'' *''The Interrupters'' *''Nobody's Business'' *''Outlawed in Pakistan'' *''The English Surgeon'' *''Fenceline: A Company Town Divided'' ITVS-Supported Primetime Emmy Winners *''Have You Heard From Johannesburg'' *''A Lion In The House''

References

External links

Official ITVS site
*
Independent Television Service (ITVS)
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

**
Independent Lens , PBS
*
Independent Lens
on

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FutureStates
*
FUTURESTATES
on

** {{Authority control Public television in the United States Peabody Award winners