Independent Lens

Season 27

15 episodes · Oct 6, 2025

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  • Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution
    S27E1

    Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution

    Oct 6, 202585m

    Phil Sharp's RNA discovery reshaped science, medicine, and the global biotech industry.

    Reviews
  • Ratified
    S27E2

    Ratified

    Oct 20, 202584m

    A bipartisan coalition continues a century-long fight to add gender equality into the Constitution.

    Reviews
  • Life After
    S27E3

    Life After

    Oct 27, 202584m

    Disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport investigates assisted dying and uncovers how ableism, policy, and systemic failures can make death seem like the only option. Who gets real choice -- and who doesn't -- in life and death?

    Reviews
  • Vivien's Wild Ride
    S27E4

    Vivien's Wild Ride

    Jan 26, 202685m

    When her eyesight begins to fade, a film editor reimagines belonging and what it truly means to see.

    Reviews
  • The Librarians
    S27E5

    The Librarians

    Feb 9, 202686m

    Librarians across the U.S. examine how restrictions on library content are shaping communities. Drawing on historical context, the film explores the broader implications for education and public life.

    Reviews
  • The Inquisitor
    S27E6

    The Inquisitor

    Feb 23, 202686m

    Barbara Jordan was a groundbreaking Texas congresswoman whose sharp intellect and moral clarity transformed U.S. politics. From Nixon's impeachment to civil rights battles, her voice demanded accountability, while she privately faced struggles few ever knew of.

    Reviews
  • Keep Quiet and Forgive
    S27E7

    Keep Quiet and Forgive

    Mar 23, 202685m

    Three decades after her assault, Lizzie confronts her Amish community’s silence around sexual abuse. She leads a movement to support fellow Amish and Mennonite survivors as they navigate trauma, faith, and family ties. With rare access, Keep Quiet and Forgive follows Lizzie and other survivors as they fight to replace “forgive and forget” with healing and justice.

    Reviews
  • The Tallest Dwarf
    S27E8

    The Tallest Dwarf

    Apr 6, 202686m

    The Tallest Dwarf follows filmmaker Julie Forrest Wyman as she searches for her place in the little people community and unpacks rumors of dwarfism in her own family. Through intimate stories, creative collaborations, and archival history, the film delves into identity and medicine, asking whether society should change people or the structures that limit them.

    Reviews
  • BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing
    S27E9

    BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing

    Apr 13, 202656m

    Immigrant grooms work year-round on the hidden “backside” of Churchill Downs. Rising before dawn, they care for some of the world’s most prized Kentucky Derby racehorses, revealing how race, labor, and class shape an elite American industry. BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing honors the resilience that’s behind the spectacle.

    Reviews
  • Natchez
    S27E10

    Natchez

    May 11, 202686m

    Antebellum homes draw visitors to Natchez, Mississippi, but not everyone agrees on the stories being told. As tour guides, homeowners, and activists navigate competing histories, the town confronts the tension between preservation and truth, offering a glimpse into a Southern community wrestling with race, memory, and identity.

    Reviews
  • Light of the Setting Sun
    S27E11

    Light of the Setting Sun

    May 18, 202672m

    A Chinese family’s multigenerational trauma unfolds across time, place, and identity. Turning the camera inward, filmmaker Vicky Du traces her family’s mental illness back to the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949. Spanning Taipei, Taiwan, and New Jersey, Light of the Setting Sun explores identity, gender roles, and whether or not healing can break the cycle for future generations.

    Reviews
  • Third Act
    S27E12

    Third Act

    May 25, 202686m

    Generations call Robert A. Nakamura the godfather of Asian American film. Tadashi Nakamura calls him Dad. Tadashi turns the camera on his father as they confront art, activism, and aging. From WWII incarceration to cultural awakening and a Parkinson’s diagnosis, Third Act is a tender portrait of legacy, inherited trauma, and the final chapter of a shared creative life.

    Reviews
  • Assembly
    S27E13

    Assembly

    Jun 22, 202656m

    Artist Rashaad Newsome prepares to showcase "Assembly," a groundbreaking exhibit at New York’s Park Avenue Armory. By blending visual art, performance, and artificial intelligence, the project centers the global evolution of vogue while honoring Black and queer resistance and calling for a more liberated future.

    Reviews
  • True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power
    S27E14

    True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power

    Jul 6, 202686m

    Through rare archival footage and firsthand accounts, True North revisits 1968 Montreal, where Black liberation movements converged at the Congress of Black Writers. As student protests ignited the Sir George Williams Affair, Black youth faced violent repression, unfolding a powerful chapter of the global Black Power era.

    Reviews
  • Flood
    S27E15

    Flood

    Jul 13, 2026

    A filmmaker revisits her evangelical roots to find connection with her estranged father.

    Reviews