Independent Lens
Evolution of a Criminal
As a teenager, Darius Monroe robbed a bank to help his family. The honors student found himself facing 5 to 99 years in prison.
Dallas, 2019
This five-week observation of the city of Dallas and its people studies the complexities of society and the human experience.
- Series
- Independent Lens
- Premiere Date
- January 3, 2025
- Length
- 5 episodes x 60 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Series and Special Projects
Director/Executive Producer
Darius Clark Monroe
Darius Clark Monroe is a documentary and fiction producer/director. Monroe’s films grapple with the innumerable experiences and environments that shape our psyche and behavior, oftentimes investigating fear, vulnerability, spirituality, and media through varied visual techniques and instruments.
- Other ITVS Films
- Evolution of a Criminal
Executive Producer
Seth Gordon
Seth Gordon has directed and produced several critically acclaimed documentaries, including King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and the Academy Award-winning film, Undefeated. Gordon has directed several studio feature films and television pilots. He is currently directing an action comedy for Netflix that he also co-wrote, Back in Action.
Executive Producer
Alon Simcha
Alon Simcha is a producer of award-winning content across film, documentary, music video, digital, and broadcast advertising. His collective film and documentary work has screened at NYFF, MoMA’s New Directors/New Films, Slamdance, and Festival du Nouveau Cinéma. He is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Story Producer
Crystal Isaac
Crystal Isaac is an Emmy Award-nominated producer with more than a decade of experience in the documentary and news industry. Her work covers a broad range of issues including education, poverty, race, gender, sexuality, and criminal justice. You can see her work on HBO, CNN, BET, STARZ, PBS, and Paramount+.
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Story Producer
Akil Gibbons
Akil Gibbons is an award winning, Emmy-Award nominated film director and producer whose film works have debuted at Sundance and aired on HBO, BET, CNN, VICE, The Daily Show, Netflix, Paramount+, TIME Studios, and Roc Nation, via his production company CoINTEL Productions (CoINTELPRO).
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The Film
Dallas, 2019 is a five-part series that captures the pulse of a city, within a state and a country in crisis. Filmed in pre-pandemic Dallas, Texas, the series follows the lives of public representatives and their varied constituents as they confront the challenges of natural and human-caused disasters, the school system, the legal system, cycles of incarceration, and community organizing. Fault lines emerge between those who follow the law, those who make the law, and those who battle against the law.
Over the course of five weeks, participants grapple with their dreams and fears, often finding more questions than answers. What is identity? How much influence does one have over who they become? How does one value a lifetime? What does it mean to be from a place? What does it mean to disappear?
Dallas, 2019 is an intimate study of a society in all of its complexity. These stories of individuals and of the collective reveal how citizens are socialized, how communities are formed, and how a city endeavors to become fairer and more effective. The series explores nuances within a reality that can be both fraught and profound, examining aspects of society, the nation, and the human experience.
