Paula Kerger Celebrates The Arts on Independent Lens

PBS President & CEO Paula Kerger pays tribute to Independent Lens's continued commitment to the arts. The Emmy Award-winning series will feature two arts-focused documentaries this month, beginning this week with The Woodmans, followed by These Amazing Shadows on December 29.

Watch the trailers after the jump.

The Woodmans (premiering Thursday, December 22) By C. Scott Willis 

In a family of ambitious artists, Francesca Woodman burned the brightest, and burnt out the fastest. The celebrated photographer committed suicide at age 22, leaving her family with a complicated mix of pride in her legacy, guilt about her death, and anger over the brevity of her life.

These Amazing Shadows (premiering Thursday, December 29) By Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton

These Amazing Shadows weaves clips from America's most-beloved films (and many rarer treasures) with moving personal tales of how specific films have reflected our culture and changed lives. The film includes interviews with the Librarian of Congress (Dr. James Billington), famous directors (including Christopher Nolan, John Lasseter, Rob Reiner, John Singleton, Barbara Kopple, and John Waters), producers (Gale Anne Hurd and James Schamus), archivists, admired actors (Tim Roth, Debbie Reynolds, Peter Coyote), and members of the National Film Preservation Board.