Bike Vessel

Independent Lens

Indie Films Series / 8 Seasons

Authentic stories. Extraordinary people.

Watch Latest: S26 E14

1h 24m / TV-PG

The Calling: Bilal Ansari

10m 38s / TV-PG

Bilal Ansari is an African American father of three and a student in the Islamic Chaplaincy Program at Hartford Seminary. He works tirelessly in the Connecticut prison system, where inmates often convert to Islam, but where he is also the victim of a hate crime perpetrated by some of his co-workers.

The Calling: Bilal the Prison Chaplain

2m 50s / TV-PG

A behind-the-scenes look at young Americans -- Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim -- preparing to become the nation's next generation of religious leaders, The Calling follows their transformation from idealistic students into ordained religious professionals.

The Calling: Rabbinical Student Explains Devotion to Faith a

1m 52s / TV-PG

A behind-the-scenes look at young Americans -- Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim -- preparing to become the nation's next generation of religious leaders, The Calling follows their transformation from idealistic students into ordained religious professionals.

The Calling - Trailer

3m 9s / TV-PG

A behind-the-scenes look at young Americans -- Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim -- preparing to become the nation's next generation of religious leaders, The Calling follows their transformation from idealistic students into ordained religious professionals.

The Calling: The Wedding Singer

2m 53s / TV-PG

A behind-the-scenes look at young Americans -- Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim -- preparing to become the nation's next generation of religious leaders, The Calling follows their transformation from idealistic students into ordained religious professionals.

The Calling: Hospital Chaplain Consoles Family After Devasta

1m 57s / TV-PG

A behind-the-scenes look at young Americans -- Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim -- preparing to become the nation's next generation of religious leaders, The Calling follows their transformation from idealistic students into ordained religious professionals.

The Calling: Jeneen Robinson and being an AME Minister

3m 28s / TV-PG

A behind-the-scenes look at young Americans -- Christian, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim -- preparing to become the nation's next generation of religious leaders, The Calling follows their transformation from idealistic students into ordained religious professionals.

The Calling: Rob Pene

9m 21s / TV-PG

Rob Pene was born in American Samoa and came to the United States on a baseball scholarship. Unsuccessful in his major-league tryouts, he pursues his passion through an urban ministry. He also writes and performs Christian rap. The sudden death of his father challenges Pene’s commitment to his chosen path.

The Calling: Steven Gamez

10m 30s / TV-PG

Steven Gamez is a good-humored Tejano (Texan-Mexican). Born and raised on San Antonio’s rough West Side, Gamez dreams of returning to his neighborhood and serving the poor. He attends Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, where he studies to become a Catholic priest.

The Calling: Shmuly Yanklowitz

8m 15s / TV-PG

Shmuly Yanklowitz is an intellectual rabbinical student at New York City’s Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School — and a passionate activist. A Modern Orthodox Jew, he feels compelled to break boundaries — to resist becoming an old-style rabbi stuck within the walls of the synagogue.

45365: The DUI Arrest

43s / TV-PG

From the patrol car to the courtroom, the playground to the nursing home, this film explores relationships and interactions with and between people in one small town. The stories of a father and son, a young relationship, cops and criminals, officials and their electorate coalesce into a mosaic of faces, places, and events.

45365: The Barber Shop

51s / TV-PG

From the patrol car to the courtroom, the playground to the nursing home, this film explores relationships and interactions with and between people in one small town. The stories of a father and son, a young relationship, cops and criminals, officials and their electorate coalesce into a mosaic of faces, places, and events.

45365: Gospel Service and Creekside Chatter

2m 34s / TV-PG

From the patrol car to the courtroom, the playground to the nursing home, this film explores relationships and interactions with and between people in one small town. The stories of a father and son, a young relationship, cops and criminals, officials and their electorate coalesce into a mosaic of faces, places, and events.

45365 - Trailer

26s / TV-PG

From the patrol car to the courtroom, the playground to the nursing home, this film explores relationships and interactions with and between people in one small town. The stories of a father and son, a young relationship, cops and criminals, officials and their electorate coalesce into a mosaic of faces, places, and events.

45365: A Campaign Message

1m 5s / TV-PG

From the patrol car to the courtroom, the playground to the nursing home, this film explores relationships and interactions with and between people in one small town. The stories of a father and son, a young relationship, cops and criminals, officials and their electorate coalesce into a mosaic of faces, places, and events.

Dirt! The Movie - Promo

1m 45s / TV-PG

Industrial farming, mining and urban development have endangered soil and resulted in cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods and climate change. How can humans reconnect to dirt -- the living skin of the Earth?

Copyright Criminals - Trailer

30s / TV-PG

Copyright Criminals examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money. The film traces the rise of hip-hop from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry.

Deep Down: Virtual Mining Town

2m 33s

Beverly May and Terry Ratliff grew up on opposite sides of a mountain ridge in eastern Kentucky, where coal is king. But, when a mountaintop removal coal mine encroaches on their town, the two find themselves on opposite sides of a debate that divides their community and the nation.

Deep Down - Trailer

41s / TV-PG

Beverly May and Terry Ratliff grew up on opposite sides of a mountain ridge in eastern Kentucky, where coal is king. But, when a mountaintop removal coal mine encroaches on their town, the two find themselves on opposite sides of a debate that divides their community and the nation.

Deep Down: Mining Interests and the Public Hearing

5m 4s / TV-PG

Beverly May and Terry Ratliff grew up on opposite sides of a mountain ridge in eastern Kentucky, where coal is king. But, when a mountaintop removal coal mine encroaches on their town, the two find themselves on opposite sides of a debate that divides their community and the nation.

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