Independent Lens

Season 17

21 episodes · Nov 9, 2015

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  • Stray Dog
    S17E1

    Stray Dog

    Nov 9, 201560m

    The portrait of a motorcycle-riding Vietnam veteran. There’s much more to Ron “Stray Dog” Hall than meets the eye. Behind the tattoos and leather vest is a man dedicated to helping his fellow vets and immigrant family as he also comes to terms with his combat experience.

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  • India's Daughter
    S17E2

    India's Daughter

    Nov 16, 201560m

    The story of the brutal gang rape and murder in Delhi of 23-year-old medical student Jyoti Singh, which sparked outrage and protests in India, a country beset by extreme poverty and gender inequality.

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  • Mimi and Dona
    S17E3

    Mimi and Dona

    Nov 23, 201560m

    What happens when love runs out of time? For 92-year-old Mimi, who has spent much of her life caring for 64-year-old Dona, her daughter with an intellectual disability, it means facing the inevitable — the likelihood that she will not outlive her daughter and the need to find her a new home.

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  • East of Salinas
    S17E4

    East of Salinas

    Dec 28, 201560m

    Born in Mexico but living in Salinas, California, 3rd-grader Jose loves school. With little support at home, he turns to his teacher, Oscar Ramos, who like Jose was born the son of migrant farm workers, and who inspires him to imagine a life beyond the fields.

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  • Chuck Norris vs. Communism
    S17E5

    Chuck Norris vs. Communism

    Jan 4, 201660m

    1980s Romania: thousands of American movies were smuggled through the Iron Curtain, opening a window into the free world. A black market racketeer and a courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the people, and helped spark a revolution.

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  • Autism in Love
    S17E6

    Autism in Love

    Jan 11, 201660m

    Finding love can be hard enough for anyone, but for those on the autism spectrum, the challenges may seem overwhelming. The disorder can jeopardize the core characteristics of a successful relationship — communication and social interaction. Autism in Love offers a warm and stereotype-shattering look at four people with autism as they pursue and manage romantic relationships.

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  • No Más Bebés (No More Babies)
    S17E7

    No Más Bebés (No More Babies)

    Jan 25, 201660m

    The story of a little-known but landmark event in reproductive justice, when a small group of Mexican immigrant women sued county doctors, the state, and the U.S. government after they were sterilized while giving birth at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

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  • In Football We Trust
    S17E8

    In Football We Trust

    Feb 1, 201660m

    Transporting viewers deep inside the tightly-knit and complex Polynesian community in Salt Lake City, one of the chief sources of the modern influx of Pacific Islander football players to the NFL. Shot over a four-year period with intimate access, this is the story of four young men striving to overcome gang violence and near poverty through the promise of American football.

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  • A Ballerina's Tale
    S17E9

    A Ballerina's Tale

    Feb 8, 201660m

    Misty Copeland is on a mission to make history by becoming the first African American principal dancer of a major ballet company.

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  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
    S17E10

    The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

    Feb 16, 201660m

    Weaving together a treasure trove of rare footage with the voices of a diverse group of people who were there, Stanley Nelson tells the vibrant story of a pivotal movement as urgent today as it was then.

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  • (T)ERROR
    S17E11

    (T)ERROR

    Feb 22, 201660m

    With twists and turns fit for an espionage thriller, (T)error goes deep inside an active terror sting without FBI consent.

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  • Wilhemina’s War
    S17E12

    Wilhemina’s War

    Feb 29, 201660m

    A Southern grandmother struggles to help her granddaughter survive the health risks and social stigma of living with HIV in South Carolina.

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  • An Honest Liar
    S17E13

    An Honest Liar

    Mar 28, 201660m

    Fed up with faith healers, fortune-tellers, and psychics using his beloved magician’s tricks to swindle money out of credulous people, James “The Amazing” Randi dedicated his life to exposing frauds with the wit and style he brought to his stage show. An Honest Liar is part detective story, part biography, and a bit of a magic act itself.

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  • Welcome to Leith
    S17E14

    Welcome to Leith

    Apr 4, 201660m

    When a notorious white supremacist and his followers hatch a scheme to gain electoral control of Leith, North Dakota, the residents of the tiny town desperately seek to expel their frightening new neighbors.

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  • Democrats
    S17E15

    Democrats

    Apr 25, 201660m

    Rival political operatives attempt to make history as they navigate Zimbabwe's volatile political landscape to draft a new constitution.

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  • My Nazi Legacy
    S17E16

    My Nazi Legacy

    May 2, 201660m

    My Nazi Legacy explores the relationship between two men, each of whom are the children of Nazi war criminals who were responsible for thousands of deaths. Through frank interviews with internationally renowned British human rights lawyer Philippe Sands, whose family perished in the Holocaust, the men reflect on the crimes of their fathers and the price of forgiveness.

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  • Peace Officer
    S17E17

    Peace Officer

    May 9, 201660m

    Meet Dub Lawrence, a crusading former sheriff whose investigations highlight increasingly militarized state of American police. Dub established Utah’s first SWAT team, only to see that same unit kill his son-in-law in a controversial standoff.

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  • The Armor of Light
    S17E18

    The Armor of Light

    May 10, 201660m

    The Armor of Light follows the journey of Evangelical minister Rob Schenck, who is trying to find the courage to preach about the growing toll of gun violence in America, and Lucy McBath, the mother of an unarmed teenager who was murdered in Florida and whose story cast a spotlight on the state’s “Stand Your Ground” laws.

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  • Dogtown Redemption
    S17E19

    Dogtown Redemption

    May 16, 201660m

    Dogtown Redemption is the story of three recyclers struggling to survive in West Oakland, a neighborhood already decimated by unemployment, addiction, and violence. Their only lifeblood is a controversial recycling center threatened with closure.

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  • TRAPPED
    S17E20

    TRAPPED

    Jun 20, 201660m

    Trapped goes inside the contentious issue of abortion rights through the story of health care providers in Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama who are struggling to comply with controversial new TRAP laws (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers). The current case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, will decide whether these laws are constitutional.

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  • T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold
    S17E21

    T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold

    Aug 2, 201660m

    Flint, Michigan’s Claressa "T-Rex" Shields won a Gold Medal in 2012, the first time women were allowed to box in the Olympics. T-Rex is a coming-of-age tale of a girl who learns that in Flint, a gold medal doesn't always make life easier.

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