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Independent Lens

Indie Films Series / 8 Seasons

Authentic stories. Extraordinary people.

Watch Latest: S26 E14

1h 24m / TV-PG

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.

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' - 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.

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."

Coming to Independent Lens: Sundance Award Winner Detropia

2m 29s / TV-PG

Can the Motor City rise from its ashes? There is a growing feeling that as Detroit goes, so goes the nation. This film tells the dramatic story of a city and its most innovative people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.

The Invisible War: Women in the U.S. Military

1m 23s / TV-PG

In this excerpt from the Oscar-nominated Independent Lens film, The Invisible War, several servicewomen describe how they were sexually assaulted while serving in the U.S military.

The Invisible War Nominated for Academy Award

30s / TV-PG

PBS congratulates the filmmakers of The Invisible War nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary. Compelling, powerful, and part of the national converation about U.S. military service, The Invisible War is coming to Independent Lens this Memorial Day.

Coming to Independent Lens: The Invisible War

1m 46s / TV-PG

The most shameful and best-kept secret in the U.S. Military? The epidemic of rape and sexual assault within the ranks. An American female soldier in a combat zone is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. A culture of privilege and impunity has resulted in few prosecutions, and the systematic isolation of women who dare report the crimes.

The Invisible War Influences Military Policy Changes

36s / TV-PG

Who says a documentary can't create change? The Invisible War is a groundbreaking, Oscar-nominated documentary about rape within the U.S. military that has catalyzed the conversation over what needs to change to prevent further abuses.

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