Independent Lens

Indie Films Series / 8 Seasons

Authentic stories. Extraordinary people.

52m 3s / TV-PG

When God Sleeps - Trailer

30s

When God Sleeps is the story of Iranian musician Shahin Najafi's stand for freedom of expression, after he was forced into hiding when hardline clerics issue a fatwa for his death, incensed by a rap song focusing on human rights. Despite the risks to his life every time he performs on stage, Shahin refuses to stop, even with a $100,000 bounty on his head.

When God Sleeps - Living on the Run - Clip

3m 6s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film When God Sleeps, Iranian musician Shahin Najafi, who is forced into hiding after hardline clerics issue a fatwa for his death, fears a car he has entered with a friend may be rigged with a bomb. Najafi may reside in Europe now but lives every day in fear--even if that doesn't stop him from performing in public.

Dolores - Trailer

30s

With intimate and unprecedented access, Peter Bratt's Dolores tells the story of Dolores Huerta, among the most important, yet least-known, activists in American history. Co-founder of the first farmworkers union with Cesar Chavez, she tirelessly led the fight for racial and labor justice, becoming one of the most defiant feminists of the 20th century.

Dolores - Young Dolores Huerta Takes on Sacramento - Clip

1m 18s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film Dolores, we see how activist Dolores Huerta, when just starting out as a young community organizer in 1959, quickly made a name for herself as a lobbyist and fierce advocate for Latinos, immigration rights and labor justice. Her dedication helped get key legislation passed in Sacramento, at a time when California legislature was all white males.

Rat Film - "Rats Put Food on My Table" - Clip

2m 48s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film Rat Film, Harold Edmond, a rat exterminator in Baltimore, helps a resident figure out how to handle the rats infesting her backyard, a common problem in certain Baltimore neighborhoods. After rats learned to avoid the poisoned peanut butter, she switches to BBQ sauce with better success. "They figured it out," Harold tells her.

Rat Film - Trailer

30s

In his critically-acclaimed directorial debut, Theo Anthony uses the rat to burrow into the dark, complicated history of Baltimore. A unique blend of history, science and sci-fi, poetry and portraiture, Rat Film explores how racial segregation, discriminatory lending practices known as “redlining,” and environmental racism built the Baltimore that exists today.

Tell Them We Are Rising - Separate But Unequal - Clip

3m 6s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film Tell Them We Are Rising, Thurgood Marshall, after graduating Howard U. law school, takes a road trip in 1934 with dean Charles Hamilton Houston to the deep South. There they document on film the abject poverty in which African American children attend school, as proof the constitutionally accepted "separate but equal" was anything but.

Behind the Scenes of "Tell Them We Are Rising"

2m

"Tell Them We Are Rising" explores the pivotal role historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have played in shaping American history, culture and national identity. Go behind the scenes of this documentary with filmmaker Stanley Nelson, Dr. Michael Lomax, President of United Negro College Fund, and Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, President of Spelman College.

Tell Them We Are Rising - Trailer

30s

The rich history of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) began before the end of slavery, flourished in the 20th century, and profoundly influenced the course of the nation for over 150 years — yet remains largely unknown. With Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities, the story of the rise, influence, and evolution of HBCUs comes to life.

Winnie - Losing Her Identity as "Mandela's Wife" - Clip

3m 23s

In this selection from the Independent Lens film Winnie, Nelson Mandela returns from a long prison sentence but fails to credit his activist-wife Winnie for her role in keeping the fight against apartheid going while he was imprisoned. Winnie says she then lost her identity--once again "Mandela's wife." We also see their trip to NYC threatened when US declares her an "International Terrorist."

Winnie - Trailer

30s

One of the more misunderstood and intriguing contemporary female political figures, Winnie Mandela's rise and seeming fall from grace bear the hallmarks of epic tragedy. Winnie explores her life and contribution to the struggle to bring down apartheid in South Africa from the inside, with intimate insight from Winnie herself, those closest to her and enemies who sought to extinguish her activism.

I Am Another You - A Kind of Freedom, with Strangers - Clip

3m 2s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film I Am Another You, filmmaker Nanfu Wang and Dylan, a homeless drifter she's only recently met, ride with a new friend who generously takes them into his home and out to dinner. There Nanfu chats with a woman from her native China about the film she is making and reveals her family back home doesn't know she's living on the streets with a stranger.

I Am Another You - Trailer

30s

When traveling in Florida, Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang encountered Dylan, a charismatic young drifter who left a comfortable home and loving family for a life of intentional homelessness. Fascinated by his choice and rejection of society's rules, Nanfu follows Dylan on a journey that takes her across America and explores the meaning and limits of freedom.

The Force - "Neutralize the Threat" - Clip

2m 57s

In this excerpt from the Sundance Award-winning Independent Lens film The Force, Oakland (CA) police cadets watch a controversial, real video of a police officer who shot a suspect multiple times, and then afterwards the cadets have an intense discussion about what is the appropriate use of force, or "neutralizing a threat," in a situation like that. The conversation gets heated.

The Force - Trailer

30s

At a powder keg moment in American policing, The Force presents a fly-on-the-wall look deep inside the long-troubled Oakland Police Department as it struggles to confront federal demands for reform, a popular uprising following events in Ferguson, Missouri, and an explosive sex scandal.

I Am Not Your Negro - Trailer

30s

The Oscar-nominated I Am Not Your Negro envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, a radical narration about race in America, using the writer’s original words, as read by actor Samuel L. Jackson. The film draws upon Baldwin’s notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and MLK to explore and bring a fresh and radical perspective to examine race in America.

I Am Not Your Negro - "The Future of the Negro" - Clip

1m 58s

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film I Am Not Your Negro, writer James Baldwin speaks on 1963's “The Negro and The American Promise” about the "the future of the Negro in this country," which is "precisely as bright or as dark as the future of the country." The central question he asks is aimed at American white people, asking them to address why they created the idea of "the nigger."

Unrest - Seeking Relief from M.E./Chronic Fatigue - Clip

2m 52s

In this clip from Independent Lens film Unrest, filmmaker Jennifer Brea, who suffers from M.E., commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome, goes from hopeful to hopeless, after seemingly finding a cure to her debilitating illness. With husband Omar by her side, Jen is able to leave home for the first time in ages, including attending a parade, before the symptoms return with a vengeance.

Unrest - Trailer

30s

Jennifer Brea was a Harvard PhD student soon to be engaged when she was struck down by a mysterious fever that left her bedridden. When doctors told her it was "all in her head," her response was to film other sufferers from her bed, gradually deploying crews globally to document patients that medicine forgot. Unrest gives voice to the millions suffering from M.E. or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin - Trailer

30s

The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin examines the life and work of one of the world's most beloved storytellers, following his evolution from a conservative son of the Old South into a gay rights pioneer whose Tales of the City books have inspired millions to claim their own truth. The film includes Neil Gaiman, Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, Sir Ian McKellen, Amy Tan, and Maupin himself.

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