Independent Lens

Indie Films Series / 8 Seasons

Authentic stories. Extraordinary people.

Watch Latest: S26 E1

1h 16m / TV-PG

The Graduates/Los Graduados: Latino Student Chooses Between

2m 31s / TV-PG

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, The Graduates/Los Graduados, we meet Eduardo, a young, Latino student in San Diego who describes how the lure of gangs and drug use have prevented most of his relatives from graduating.

Coming Soon to Independent Lens: The Graduates

3m 11s

Two-part, bilingual documentary explores pressing issues in education today through the eyes of six Latino and Latina adolescents from across the United States, offering first-hand perspectives on the barriers they have to overcome in order to make their dreams come true.

The Graduates: Teen Parenting

/ TV-PG

Just before her sophomore year of high school, Darlene Bustos became pregnant. She considered dropping out because she felt her priority was being a full-time mother. As her son Alex began attending Head Start, Darlene thought more about his future, and her own. She enrolled in the Union Alternate School program for at-risk students, where she began the work of finishing high school.

Los Graduados: Una latina sin hogar mientras asiste la prepa

1m 52s / TV-PG

En este extracto del documental de Independent Lens, The Graduates/Los graduados, conocemos a Chastity, una joven estudiante latina que vive en el Bronx, NY. En realidad, mientras en la preparatoria Chastity estaba viviendo con su familia en un refugio para personas sin hogar, que le hacía difícil concentrarse en tener éxito académicamente.

The Graduates: Homelessness

/ TV-PG

After her family became homeless, Chastity Salas’ sense of responsibility toward her family threatened to interfere with her education. A counselor provided her the support needed to stay in school and apply for college. Chastity began to thrive at school, using writing as an outlet for her feelings. She inspires her younger siblings, who admire her perseverance in making it to college.

The Waiting Room: Waiting Room Stories Personalize Health Ca

3m 50s / TV-PG

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, The Waiting Room, patients in the waiting room of Oakland's Highland Hospital ER share their stories of their struggles within the American healthcare system with one another.

The Waiting Room - Preview

30s / TV-PG

The Waiting Room intimately follows several people who pass through the emergency room of Highland Hospital in East Oakland, CA. Shot over several months and with a poignant mix of humor and drama, the film presents a composite portrait of a public institution struggling to care for a persistent and growing stream of patients living on the fringes of America's health care system.

The Waiting Room: Behind the Scenes of a Real Life ER

4m 54s / TV-PG

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, The Waiting Room, staff and doctors in the busy ER of Oakland's Highland Hospital work tirelessly to provide care for patients who have no healthcare safety-net.

Coming to Independent Lens: The Waiting Room

2m 16s / TV-PG

The Waiting Room is a cinema verité portrait of one California city's public safety-net hospital as it struggles to handle patient overload in a swooning economy and a constantly shifting landscape of health care policy. The film will make its television premiere next season on Independent Lens.

Don't Stop Believin': Journey's Neal Schon on Finding a Fron

1m 18s / TV-PG

Journey band member Neal Schon describes how he discovered their newest member, Arnel Pineda, on YouTube, in this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, Don't Stop Believin'.

Don't Stop Believin': Journey's Arnel Pineda Recalls His Deb

2m 41s / TV-PG

Journey frontman, Arnel Pineda describes what his debut performance with the band was like. , in this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, Don't Stop Believin'.

Get Ready for a New Season of Independent Lens

30s

Independent Lens launches its 12th season on PBS with a lineup of 23 remarkable documentaries from both new and established filmmakers. The season opener on Monday, September 30 is Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey, a real life rock and roll fairy tale about Filipino singer Arnel Pineda, who was plucked from YouTube to become the frontman for the iconic American rock band Journey.

Don't Stop Believin' - Preview

30s / TV-PG

Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey follows the real life rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale of Filipino Arnel Pineda, who was plucked from YouTube to become the front man for iconic American rock band Journey.

Coming to Independent Lens: Don't Stop Believin'

2m 4s / TV-PG

Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey follows the real life rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale of Filipino Arnel Pineda, who was plucked from YouTube to become the front man for iconic American rock band Journey.

Don't Stop Believin': How a Fan Video Led to a Real Life Roc

1m 57s / TV-PG

Arnel Pineda tells the story of how a fan's video shot in the Philippines led to his being invited to join the band Journey, , in this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, Don't Stop Believin'.

What is Community Cinema?

1m 28s

Community Cinema is a national civic engagement initiative featuring free screenings and curricula for films from the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens. In 100 cities and online, community members come together to learn, discuss, and get involved in key social issues of our time. Coming in September, see The Graduates/Los Graduados!

Coming to Independent Lens: The Revolutionary Optimists

4m 23s / TV-PG

Amlan Ganguly, a lawyer-turned social entrepreneur, has sewn hope in the poorest neighborhoods of Calcutta by empowering children to become leaders in improving health, transforming their communities for the better.

The Revolutionary Optimists: Teaching Children to Be Agents

3m 5s / TV-PG

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, The Revolutionary Optimists, Amlan Ganguly, a lawyer-turned social entrepreneur, coaches a group of young children in the Calcutta slums in a puppet show designed to inform their communities about health concerns.

Detropia: The Scavengers' Story

3m 19s / TV-PG

In this video companion piece to the Independent Lens documentary, Detropia, two Detroit area scavengers discuss how scrap metal provides a decent living now that unemployment rates have exceeded 30% and assembly line wages have been reduced.

Detropia: America's Fastest Shrinking City

2m 10s / TV-PG

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, Detropia, we see the demolition of one of 100,000 abaondoned homes in Detroit, the fastest shrinking city in the United States. The reporter interviewing the demolition expert says it is as if the city is "going back to the prairie."

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