Independent Lens

In this excerpt from the Oscar-nominated war documentary, Hell and Back Again, Sergeant Nathan Harris describes how he was wounded in Afghanistan to a surprised store-greeter. "It's alright, I'm here and I'm home now," he tells her as she expresses her concern and appreciation through a hug.

In this excerpt from the Oscar-nominated war documentary, Hell and Back Again, Sergeant Nathan Harris becomes increasingly frustrated as he and his wife look for a parking spot at a shopping mall. "I would rather be in Afghanistan, where it's simple," he says, as civilian life seems almost overwhelming after his wartime experience.

Danfung Dennis's haunting war documentary Hell and Back Again has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary. The film follows U.S. Marine Sergeant Nathan Harris, 25, as he leads his unit to fight a ghostlike enemy in Afghanistan. Wounded in battle, Harris returns to North Carolina and his devoted wife to fight pain, addiction, and the terrifying normalcy of life at home.

In this excerpt from the Oscar-nominated war documentary, Hell and Back Again, Echo Company is debriefed before their deployment on what is at stake in their mission. "Your conscience should be clear," they are told "and your honor should be clean."

In this companion video to the Independent Lens documentary, Left by the Ship, Robert, a Filipino Amerasian blogger meets with other Amerasians living in Olongapo City, whose fathers were U.S. servicemen once stationed here. Their stories are sadly consistent, telling of rejection and discrimination, along with a hope that they will be reunited with their fathers.

For nearly a century, American servicemen were stationed at Subic Bay in the Philippines, and many of them fathered children with the women who lived nearby. When the base closed in 1991, hundreds of these children were left behind, stripped of their fathers and their sense of identity.

Robert, a Filipino Amerasian blogger, listens to his mother describe how the U.S. serviceman who was his father refused to accept responsibility for his son, in this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, Left by the Ship.

Born in 1987, Filipino Amerasian JR was left with his mother at age 5 after the U.S. serviceman who was his father abandoned him. Growing up, he often faced discrimination due to his biracial ethnicity. Now, he has an opportunity to contact his American father. Find out if he does in the Independent Lens documentary, Left By the Ship.

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, Left by the Ship, Filipino Amerasian writer, Robert, learns how nightclub owners were paid "bar-fines" by U.S. servicemen who wanted dancers to spend exclusive time with them outside the bar. Their children were subsequently shunned, especially if the fathers were African American, like Charlene, who is profiled in the film.

Nacho Vejar, an ethnic studies student in a Tucson high school, describes how Mexican American Studies classes encourage critical thinking, community involvement, and the pursuit of new talents in this companion video the Independent Lens documentary, Precious Knowledge.

United States Congressman Raul Grijalva, Pima County Legal Defender Isabel Garcia, and others describe how the struggle for Chicano American rights in Tucson stemmed out of the inequality inherent in the school district in the late 1960s in this companion video the Independent Lens documentary, Precious Knowledge.

Tucson ethnic studies student, Mariah Harvey, describes how Mexican American Studies classes at Tucson High School enriched both her understanding of racial difference in her community as well as her own sense of self-identity as a biracial LGBT teen in this companion video the Independent Lens documentary, Precious Knowledge.

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, Precious Knowledge, Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne, holds a press conference calling for the end of the Mexican American Studies Program. He believes ethnic studies emphasize ethnic solidarity, rather than assimilation with American ideas, and should be abolished.

As teachers in Tucson's Mexican American Studies Program, teachers Curtis Acosta and Jose Gonzalez successfully engaged students in the classroom, helping to close the achievement gap between white students and students of color. However, a group of lawmakers and politicians saw thing differently, and launched a campaign to end the program.

In 1997, community activism led the Tucson city council to set up a study committee to look at ways of boosting Latino student achievement and reducing dropout rates. Based on its findings, the school board unanimously voted to create what would become the Mexican American Studies Program.

When a highly successful Mexican American Studies program at a high school in Tucson comes under fire for teaching ethnic chauvinism, teachers and students fight back. This modern civil rights struggle is born at the epicenter of the immigration debate in the age of identity politics.

In this update with the subjects of the Independent Lens documentary, Summer Pasture, we catch up with Locho and Yama and their two daughters to see how their lives have changed since they were first filmed. Now they have certain modern amenities, like a cell phone and a television, on which they view the documentary about themselves. Afterwards, they share their thoughts about the film.

Despite a philandering husband, costly medical problems, and the loss of a child, nomadic herder Yama remains stoic when she describes life for her and her family in this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, Summer Pasture.

In this update with the subjects of the Independent Lens documentary, Summer Pasture, we see Locho and Yama's daughter Tsering Tsomo -- now 5 years old -- and her 3 year old sister, Drolkar Lhamo. Both parents agree that sending their girls to school is a high priority for the family, so that they will have greater opportunities and an appreciation for their Tibetan heritage.

Locho and Yama are nomadic herders in Tibet's high grasslands, who carve their existence from the land as their ancestors have for generations. As traditional nomadic life confronts rapid modernization, Summer Pasture captures a family at a crossroads, ultimately revealing the profound sacrifice they will make to ensure their daughter's future.