Independent Lens

Indie Films Series / 8 Seasons

Authentic stories. Extraordinary people.

1h 16m / TV-PG

TRAPPED - Trailer

30s

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.

Dogtown Redemption: Recyclers vs. NIMBYs

2m 46s

This excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Dogtown Redemption shows the battle of the Oakland City Council and NIMBYs against Alliance Metals, a recycling center that many homeless people in West Oakland depend upon for income. In a city council meeting, street resident Jason argues passionately in favor of keeping it open, only to have the police try to shut it down the next day.

Dogtown Redemption: A Former Minister Living on the Streets

2m 37s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Dogtown Redemption, we meet Landon Goodwin, an articulate former ordained minister whose life spiraled downward after he became addicted to crack, leading to his family expelling him. Now homeless and subsisting on recycling, he's working to get his life back together.

Dogtown Redemption: Polkacide Drummer Now Homeless

1m 7s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Dogtown Redemption, we learn a surprising revelation about Miss Kay, now a homeless woman living on the streets in Oakland, CA, but way back when in happier days a drummer for popular Bay Area "punk polka" band Polkacide.

Dogtown Redemption: Recycling Balancing Act

1m 42s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film Dogtown Redemption, a homeless Oakland, CA man named Jason explains how he precariously carries a huge amount of recycling on a makeshift cart, including up to 800 pounds of glass and 200 pounds of plastic all at once, as he covers nearly 15 miles of road on his route.

Dogtown Redemption - Trailer

30s

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.

The Armor of Light: The Sermon

1m 55s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary The Armor of Light, the Rev. Rob Schenck gives a powerful sermon in which he urges pastors to look beyond Fox News and the NRA when it comes to the issue of gun violence. He concludes with a resonant verse from Romans 13:12.

The Armor of Light: The Sanctity of Life

2m 54s

In an emotional scene from the Independent Lens documentary The Armor of Light, the Rev. Rob Schenck meets Lucy McBath, whose son Jordan Davis was shot to death by a Florida man who attempted to justify the killing by the state's "stand your ground" law. Schenck and McBath find common ground in their strong Evangelical faith, which they agree should emphasize nonviolence.

The Armor of Light: The Reverend at the Gun Range

2m 10s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary The Armor of Light, the Rev. Rob Schenck, who has begun to doubt gun ownership is consistent with the Christian faith, visits a gun range in order to gain hands-on experience with the very thing tormenting his conscience. There, he puts himself through a disturbing mental exercise, imagining the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School as he sq

The Armor of Light - Trailer

30s

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.

Peace Officer: Mistaken ID Leads Police to the Wrong House

2m 55s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Peace Officer, the Hill family of Ogden, Utah recalls their harrowing encounter with officers after a case of mistaken identity led law enforcement to bang on their door in the middle of the night to serve a warrant.

Peace Officer: Friendly Fire

2m 5s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Peace Officer, "Dub" Lawrence, a former Sheriff in Utah and now a private investigator, uncovers evidence indicating that a police officer wounded in a 2012 shootout was hit by friendly fire. Police maintain the officer was shot by a suspect who opened fired while being served a drug search warrant.

Peace Officer: The Militarization of Police

2m 51s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Peace Officer, the militarization of police is revealed to accelerate alongside the escalation of the War on Drugs, especially after the implementation of the "1033 program" following the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act in 1990 that authorized the U.S. military to donate equipment to police departments.

Peace Officer - Trailer

30s

In Peace Officer, the increasingly tense relationship between law enforcement and the public is seen through the eyes of someone who's been on both sides: “Dub” Lawrence, a former sheriff who established Utah's first SWAT team, only to see the same unit kill his son-in-law in a controversial standoff 30 years later.

My Nazi Legacy: Baron Otto Gustav von Watcher's Son

1m 26s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary My Nazi Legacy, Horst von Wächter reflects on his fleeting memory of his father Otto von Wächter, who had been a high-ranking Nazi official and fled into hiding after WWII. Von Wächter remains conflicted about his father's guilt.

My Nazi Legacy: The Last Picture of Hans Frank

1m 27s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary My Nazi Legacy, Niklas Frank, whose father was convicted of war crimes at Nuremberg and executed in 1945, talks about why he still carries with him the haunting last photograph of his father Hans Frank — taken after he had been hanged. It serves as a powerful reminder that goes beyond family.

My Nazi Legacy - Trailer

30s

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.

Democrats: Beaten to Death

1m 46s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Democrats, Douglas Mwonzora, a leader of the opposition party in Zimbabwe and on that country's new constitutional committee, visits the family of a boy killed in a politically charged melee, to offer condolences. When Mwonzora asks them what happened, he learns more about why they are afraid to speak up.

Democrats: "We Don't Like Sellouts!"

2m 43s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Democrats, Paul Mangwana, who was appointed by Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party to oversee the drafting of a new national constitution, tries to calm an angry crowd gathered at a constitutional meeting. Pro-Mugabe citizens think he's trying to sell them out, and the scene becomes tense in a hurry.

Democrats - Trailer

30s

Democrats follows two top political operatives in Zimbabwe who have been appointed to lead the creation of a new constitution after years of increasingly corrupt leadership from President Robert Mugabe. The two men are political opponents with wholly different styles but united in their ambition to deliver a new foundation for a reformed Zimbabwe.

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