Independent Lens

Season 13 (27 Episodes)

2011 TV-14 8.2

Different celebrity hosts present new independent documentaries..

Independent Lens is an award-winning PBS documentary series that streams on the PBS App and airs on public television. Independent Lens documentaries focus on stories of underrepresented communities and universal challenges found across America. The series has been awarded numerous Emmys and Peabodys, and has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards.

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Season 13 Episodes:

Episode 1 Wham! Bam! Islam!

1. Wham! Bam! Islam!

Aired: Oct 13, 2011

WHAM! BAM! ISLAM! tells the story of Naif Al-Mutawa and his venture to create...

Episode 2 Donor Unknown

2. Donor Unknown

Aired: Oct 20, 2011

An in-depth look at a far-flung group of siblings in search of each other and...

Episode 3 Lives Worth Living

3. Lives Worth Living

Aired: Oct 27, 2011

"Lives Worth Living" tells the story of the disability rights movement in Ame...

Episode 4 Deaf Jam

4. Deaf Jam

Aired: Nov 3, 2011

"Deaf Jam" chronicles the experiences of Aneta Brodski, a deaf Israeli teen l...

Episode 5 We Still Live Here

5. We Still Live Here

Aired: Nov 17, 2011

Anne Makepeace's "We Still Live Here—As Nutayunean" tells the story of lingui...

Episode 6 The Woodmans

6. The Woodmans

Aired: Dec 22, 2011

"The Woodmans" charts the short life of influential photographer Francesca Wo...

Episode 7 These Amazing Shadows

7. These Amazing Shadows

Aired: Dec 29, 2011

"These Amazing Shadows" focuses on the National Film Registry, an eclectic co...

Episode 15 More Than a Month

15. More Than a Month

Aired: Feb 16, 2012

Shukree Hassan Tilghman, a 29-year-old African American filmmaker, goes on a ...

Episode 17 Being Elmo

17. Being Elmo

Aired: Apr 5, 2012

Every day, millions tune in to Sesame Street to see one of the world’s most a...

Episode 21 Circo

21. Circo

Aired: May 3, 2012

The Ponce family circus has been living and performing in rural Mexico for se...

Episode 22 Summer Pasture

22. Summer Pasture

Aired: May 10, 2012

Summer Pasture is the unique love story of Locho and Yama, nomadic herders in...

Episode 23 Precious Knowledge

23. Precious Knowledge

Aired: May 17, 2012

When a highly successful Mexican American Studies program at a high school in...

Episode 24 Left by the Ship

24. Left by the Ship

Aired: May 24, 2012

Three young adults born to Filipino mothers by U.S. servicemen battle against...

Episode 25 Hell and Back Again

25. Hell and Back Again

Aired: May 28, 2012

U.S. Marine Sergeant Nathan Harris, 25, leads his unit to fight a ghostlike e...

Episode 26 We Were Here

26. We Were Here

Aired: Jun 7, 2012

When AIDS arrived in San Francisco in 1981, it decimated a community, but als...

Episode 27 Strong!

27. Strong!

Aired: Jun 26, 2012

A formidable figure standing at 5'8" and weighing more than 300 pounds, Chery...

Info about Independent Lens

Current Status: Returning Series

Network: PBS

Genres: Documentary