Independent Lens

Indie Films Series / 8 Seasons

Authentic stories. Extraordinary people.

1h 25m / TV-14

Being Big Has Its Advantages

1m 14s / TV-PG

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, Strong!, weightlifter Cheryl Haworth describes why being heavier is better for competition in her weight class. "You're sturdier, more stable," she says.

Strong!: Raising the Bar With Strength and Grace

1m 30s / TV-PG

"Weightlifting is not simply about heaving weight over your head," says champion Cheryl Haworth. In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, Strong!, Haworth and her teammates describe the physics -- and grace -- involved in their sport.

We Were Here: A Health Crisis Catalyzes a Political Movement

1m 6s / TV-PG

In the early years of the epidemic, delegations of people living with AIDS began going to Washington DC to raise awareness about the impact of the disease and to lobby for more research and treatment of the disease, as we see in this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, We Were Here.

The Epidemic That Decimated and Defined a Community

2m 18s / TV-PG

When AIDS arrived in San Francisco in 1981, it decimated a community, but also brought people together in inspiring and moving ways to support and care for one another and to fight for dignity and a cure.

We Were Here: We Don't Let Our Friends Get Hurt

29s / TV-PG

As the AIDS crisis began claiming more and more victims, the community in San Francisco rallied to care for not just those suffering from the disease, but to support the LGBT community as a whole, as we see in this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, We Were Here.

We Were Here: Realizing the Devastating Effects of AIDS

47s / TV-PG

In this excerpt from the Independent Lens documentary, We Were Here, a nurse who treated patients during the early years of the AIDS epidemic describes how victims of the disease experienced rapid health declines, as they struggled with the onset of pneumonia and Karposi's sarcoma.

Hell and Back Again: Appreciation for a Returning Veteran

1m 4s / TV-PG

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.

Hell and Back Again: For One Marine, a Parking Lot Becomes a

40s / TV-PG

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.

Oscar-Nominated Hell and Back Again Comes to PBS

1m 48s / TV-PG

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.

Hell and Back Again: A Marine Company is Debriefed Before Ba

2m 1s / TV-PG

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."

Left by the Ship: Searching for Their Fathers

5m / TV-PG

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.

Stigmatized and Shunned, Filipino Amerasians Seek...

2m 50s / TV-PG

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.

A Parent Seeks the Father Who Abandoned Him

2m 20s / TV-PG

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.

Left by the Ship: An Affidavit Offers Hope to One Filipino A

2m 26s / TV-PG

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.

Left by the Ship: Some Servicemen Paid for "Wives" but Didn'

3m / TV-PG

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.

Precious Knowledge: The Lasting Legacy of the Chicano Studen

8m 8s / TV-PG

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.

Precious Knowledge: Connecting to Community and Self Through

4m 58s / TV-PG

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.

Precious Knowledge: Closing the Achievement Gap in Tucson Sc

4m 48s / TV-PG

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.

Precious Knowledge: The Case Against Ethnic Studies

2m 58s / TV-PG

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.

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