Independent Lens

Indie Films Series / 7 Seasons

Authentic stories. Extraordinary people.

1h 16m / TV-PG

Waste Land: A Scavenger Since the Age of Seven

52s / TV-PG

Suelem has worked as a catador ("garbage picker") since she was 7 years old and describes it as an honest living, preferable to other alternatives available to the poor living in Rio de Janeiro.

Oscar-Nominated Waste Land Premiering on PBS

2m 9s / TV-PG

Waste Land, one of this year's Oscar-nominated documentaries, is coming to Independent Lens on April 19 at 10pm (check local listings). Brazilian artist Vik Muniz creates portraits of people using found materials from the places where they live and work. We meet Muniz as he embarks on his next project, inspired by the trash pickers at the largest landfill on earth.

The Wunderkind of the Lower East Side

28s / TV-PG

In his short career, Jean-Michel Basquiat was a wunderkind and a phenomenon. Discovered through his graffiti art in the late 1970s on the Lower East Side, he sold his first painting to Deborah Harry for $200, and later became best friends with Andy Warhol. Director Tamra Davis pays homage to her friend in a definitive documentary.

Jean-Michele Basquait: Who was SAMO?

1m 4s / TV-PG

In the late 1970s, graffiti tags by SAMO -- the moniker shared by Jean-Michel Basquiat and friend Al Diaz -- became ubiquitous on New York's Lower East Side. Discovered through his graffiti art in the late 1970s on the Lower East Side, he sold his first painting to Deborah Harry for $200, and later became best friends with Andy Warhol.

Jean-Michel Basquait: Turning Street Energy Into High Art

1m 21s / TV-PG

Basquiat had a special talent for taking "street energies" and making them into high art. During his short career, Jean-Michel Basquiat was a wunderkind and a phenomenon. Discovered through his graffiti art in the late 1970s on the Lower East Side, he sold his first painting to Deborah Harry for $200, and later became best friends with Andy Warhol.

Forbidden Art: Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Stalinist, or Anti-Esta

2m 31s / TV-PG

The Desert of Forbidden Art tells the incredible story of how one man -- Igor Savitsky -- stashed a treasure trove of banned Soviet art worth millions of dollars in a far-off desert of Uzbekistan. One painter represented in the collection -- Mikhail Kurzin -- tried to follow the Soviet style, but he couldn't stand it.

The Desert of Forbidden Art: An Art Lover With the Eyes of a

3m 18s / TV-PG

The Desert of Forbidden Art tells the incredible story of how one man -- Igor Savitsky -- stashed a treasure trove of banned Soviet art worth millions of dollars in a far-off desert of Uzbekistan. In this excerpt, Artist Elena Korovay reacted with some chagrin to Savitsky's zeal for her work.

The Dessert of Forbidden Art: The Road to Uzbekistan

1m 44s / TV-PG

The Desert of Forbidden Art tells the incredible story of how one man -- Igor Savitsky -- stashed a treasure trove of banned Soviet art worth millions of dollars in a far-off desert of Uzbekistan. Hear how Savitsky made over 20 trips to Uzbekistan to smuggle art treasures out of Moscow.

The Greatest Art You've Never Seen

2m 35s / TV-PG

Back in the USSR, one man created a secret collection of suppressed masterpieces. The Desert of Forbidden Art tells the incredible story of how one man -- Igor Savitsky -- stashed a treasure trove of banned Soviet art worth millions of dollars in a far-off desert of Uzbekistan. One artist championed by Savitsky -- Elena Korovay -- reacted with some chagrin to his zeal for her work.

The Desert of Forbiden Art: The Plight of the Nukus Museum

2m 34s / TV-PG

Nukus Museum director Marinika Babanazarova describes how the future of Savitsky's legacy seems grim as its aging, low-paid staff are poised to retire and government support is in steep decline. Recently, the Uzbek government suddenly designated one of the two museum buildings for demolition, leaving only 48 hours for staff to relocate the works of art on display there.

Pushing the Elephant - Preview

28s / TV-PG

When civil war came to Rose's Congolese village, she was separated from her five-year-old daughter, Nangabire. Rose Mapendo managed to escape with nine of her 10 children and was eventually resettled in Phoenix, Arizona. More than a decade later, mother and daughter are reunited in the U.S. where they must come to terms with the past and build a new future.

Pushing the Elephant: It Takes a Village...of Women

3m 2s / TV-PG

When civil war came to Rose's Congolese village, she was separated from her five-year-old daughter, Nangabire. Rose Mapendo managed to escape with nine of her 10 children and was eventually resettled in Phoenix, Arizona. More than a decade later, mother and daughter are reunited in the U.S. where they must come to terms with the past and build a new future

Pushing the Elephant: Immeasurable Pain

50s / TV-PG

When civil war came to Rose's Congolese village, she was separated from her five-year-old daughter, Nangabire. Rose Mapendo managed to escape with nine of her 10 children and was eventually resettled in Phoenix, Arizona. More than a decade later, mother and daughter are reunited in the U.S. where they must come to terms with the past and build a new future.

Pushing the Elephant: Together at Last

2m 42s / TV-PG

When civil war came to Rose's Congolese village, she was separated from her five-year-old daughter, Nangabire. Rose Mapendo managed to escape with nine of her 10 children and was eventually resettled in Phoenix, Arizona. More than a decade later, mother and daughter are reunited in the U.S. where they must come to terms with the past and build a new future.

Wangari Maathai Sees the Forest for the Trees

3m 4s / TV-PG

How does the simple act of planting trees lead to winning the Nobel Peace Prize? Ask Wangari Maathai of Kenya. In 1977, she suggested rural women plant trees to address problems stemming from a degraded environment. Under her leadership, their tree-planting grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment and to promote democracy, earning Maathai the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

Celebrate the Power of Sisterhood

44s

There has never been a better time to shine a light on stories of women creating change around the world. Around the globe courageous and powerful women are standing up and speaking out for equality and justice, and making profound changes in their communities and the world at large. Please join Independent Lens for a groundbreaking series of films about the power of sisterhood.

Me Facing Life: Prison Reflections

2m 34s / TV-PG

In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was arrested for murder. There was no question that a 43-year-old man is dead and that she killed him. What mystified filmmaker Daniel Birman was just how common violence among youth is, and just how rarely we stop to question our assumptions about it. He wondered in this case what led a girl -- who grew-up in a reasonable home environment -- to this tragic end?

Me Facing Life: Where Was I?

1m 43s / TV-PG

In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was arrested for murder. There was no question that a 43-year-old man is dead and that she killed him. What mystified filmmaker Daniel Birman was just how common violence among youth is, and just how rarely we stop to question our assumptions about it. He wondered in this case what led a girl -- who grew-up in a reasonable home environment -- to this tragic end?

Me Facing Life: Pretrial Interview

3m 9s / TV-PG

In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was arrested for murder. There was no question that a 43-year-old man is dead and that she killed him. What mystified filmmaker Daniel Birman was just how common violence among youth is, and just how rarely we stop to question our assumptions about it. He wondered in this case what led a girl -- who grew-up in a reasonable home environment -- to this tragic end?

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