Independent Lens
Season 17
201521 episodes
Episode 1
Stray Dog
Nov 9, 20151h
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.
Episode 2
India's Daughter
Nov 16, 20151h
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.
Episode 3
Mimi and Dona
Nov 23, 20151h
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.
Episode 4
East of Salinas
Dec 28, 20151h
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.
Episode 5
Chuck Norris vs. Communism
Jan 4, 20161h
TMDB rating 1.0TMDB
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.
Episode 6
Autism in Love
Jan 11, 20161h
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.
Episode 7
No Más Bebés (No More Babies)
Jan 25, 20161h
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.
Episode 8
In Football We Trust
Feb 1, 20161h
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.
Episode 9
A Ballerina's Tale
Feb 8, 20161h
Misty Copeland is on a mission to make history by becoming the first African American principal dancer of a major ballet company.
Episode 10
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Feb 16, 20161h
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.
Episode 11
(T)ERROR
Feb 22, 20161h
With twists and turns fit for an espionage thriller, (T)error goes deep inside an active terror sting without FBI consent.
Episode 12
Wilhemina’s War
Feb 29, 20161h
A Southern grandmother struggles to help her granddaughter survive the health risks and social stigma of living with HIV in South Carolina.
Episode 13
An Honest Liar
Mar 28, 20161h
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.
Episode 14
Welcome to Leith
Apr 4, 20161h
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.
Episode 15
Democrats
Apr 25, 20161h
Rival political operatives attempt to make history as they navigate Zimbabwe's volatile political landscape to draft a new constitution.
Episode 16
My Nazi Legacy
May 2, 20161h
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.
Episode 17
Peace Officer
May 9, 20161h
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.
Episode 18
The Armor of Light
May 10, 20161h
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.
Episode 19
Dogtown Redemption
May 16, 20161h
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.
Episode 20
TRAPPED
Jun 20, 20161h
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.
Episode 21
T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold
Aug 2, 20161h
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.