Independent Lens

Indie Films Series / 8 Seasons

Authentic stories. Extraordinary people.

Watch Latest: S26 E2

1h 25m / TV-14

Limited Partnership: Justice Kennedy Changes His Mind

3m 53s / TV-G

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the opinion in Obergefell vs. Hodges that protects nationwide same-sex marriage, once maintained very different views. In 1985, Kennedy wrote the decision that forced Australian Tony Sullivan to go underground with his American husband in order to avoid deportation. Learn more about the evolution of Justice Kennedy’s same-sex rulings in this short video.

Limited Partnership: Shocking Letter from the INS

1m 17s / TV-G

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Limited Partnership, Richard Adams and Tony Sullivan receive a Green Card rejection letter from the INS, which bluntly informs the couple that they’ve failed to establish that “a bona fide relationship can exist” between two gay men — but deployed with a shocking slur.

1971: The Idea of a Break-In

1m 10s / TV-G

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary 1971, John and Bonnie Raines, Keith Forsyth, as well as Bill Davidon, the mastermind and de facto leader of the Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI, talk about how Bill first approached them with his incredibly risky idea: break in to an FBI audience and send files to the press.

1971: Paper Proof

1m 47s / TV-G

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary 1971, members of the Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI look back on the night they sorted through the FBI documents they’d nabbed and discovered the shocking evidence of spying on Americans and other abuses.

Coming to Independent Lens: 1971

30s / TV-G

On March 8, 1971, a group of citizens broke into a small FBI office in Pennsylvania, took every file, and shared them with the public. Their actions exposed the FBI's illegal surveillance program of law-abiding Americans. Now, these previously anonymous Americans publicly share their story for the first time.

Born to Fly: Artificial Gravity

1m 27s / TV-G

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Born to Fly, “extreme action” choreographer Elizabeth Streb introduces us to her dynamic piece called “Artificial Gravity,” in which her dancers, through extraordinary balance and agility, are in constant movement both on the ground and in the air, as a wheel spins under their feet.

Born to Fly: Elizabeth Sees the Doctor

3m 30s / TV-G

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Born to Fly, choreographer Elizabeth Streb visits her knee doctor and discusses (and shows) various injuries she has gotten over the years. Dr. Rose discusses the difference between traditional athletes and STREB dancers while acknowledging that both put their bodies at risk.

Born to Fly: Waterfall at Millennium Bridge

2m 57s / TV-G

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Born to Fly, choreographer Elizabeth Streb debuts her dance troupe’s “Waterfall” performance at Millennium Bridge as part of her One Extraordinary Day in London, in tandem with the Summer Olympics. She tells a skeptical reporter who worries it’s unsafe, “Anything that’s too safe is not action.”

Coming Soon to Independent Lens: Born to Fly

30s / TV-G

Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity traces the evolution of choreographer and “extreme action architect“ Elizabeth Streb’s more than 30 years of movement philosophy. The film culminates with Streb and her dancers preparing and presenting gravity-defying performances in London’s Cultural Olympiad leading up to the 2012 Olympics.

Coming to Independent Lens: Kumu Hina

30s / TV-G

Hina, a native Hawai'ian mahu (transgender) teacher, uses traditional culture to inspire a student to claim her place as leader of the school's all-male hula troupe. Despite her success as a teacher, Hina longs for love and a committed relationship. Will marriage to a headstrong Tongan man fulfill her dreams?

Kumu Hina: You Are the Warriors of Today

2m 12s / TV-G

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Kumu Hina, schoolchildren are given an emotional lecture about the true meaning of “Kumu” and about Hawai’ian history. “Hae Hawai’i” is the flag of the state and the teacher wants to make sure they understand that they will continue the legacy as “the true warriors of today.” The kids then sing the former national anthem.

Kumu Hina: Ho'onani Steps Up

2m 2s / TV-G

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Kumu Hina, Ho'onani, a charismatic sixth grade girl who considers herself “in the middle,” takes over leadership of the school’s all-male hula troupe. It becomes a way for her to express her inner-male spirit.

Kumu Hina: Reunited

2m 11s / TV-G

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Kumu Hina, Hina travels from Hawai’i to Fiji to reunite with her husband, a headstrong Tongan man. For all her trepidations, Hina says, “I really can’t wait to see him.” They share a moving reconnection at the airport.

Coming to Independent Lens Online: After the Storm

29s / TV-PG

After the Storm is an interactive documentary that tells the first-person story of what happens in the wake of a devastating tornado that ripped through central Alabama in 2011. Written as a letter to future disaster survivors, it’s a universal story of survival, healing, and resilience.

The Great Invisible: Hardluck City

1m 21s / TV-PG

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary The Great Invisible, Roosevelt Harris of Bayou La Batre, Alabama, runs the truck ministry for the Hemley Church Mobile Food Pantry and provides food, encouragement, and advice to people displaced by the disaster. He calls the area “Hardluck City” as he drives around handing out food to grateful locals.

Coming to Independent Lens: The Great Invisible

30s / TV-PG

In 2010, the Gulf Coast was devastated by the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 and dumping 210 million gallons of oil into the sea. In The Great Invisible, crew members, families, and fishermen still haunted by the disaster provide gripping first-hand accounts of their experience.

The Homestretch: Roque's Story

2m 32s / TV-PG

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary The Homestretch, we are introduced to Roque, who has been separated from his parents due to immigration issues. Roque, temporarily living his teacher’s home, is one of more than 22,000 homeless students in Chicago public schools, but he hasn’t given up his dream of going to college.

Coming to Independent Lens: Little Hope Was Arson

30s / TV-PG

January 2010: In the “buckle of the Bible Belt,” 10 churches burn to the ground in just over a month, igniting the largest criminal investigation in East Texas history. No stone is left unturned, and even Satan himself is considered a suspect in this investigation of a community terrorized from the inside out.

Little White Lie: Finding Her New Identity at Georgetown

3m 39s / TV-G

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary Little White Lie, filmmaker Lacey Schwartz talks about how applying to college at Georgetown University made her more ready to try on a new identity for herself. She was welcomed by the black community when she joined the Black Student Alliance, and it also lead her to finally confront her mother about why she looks the way she does.

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