Independent Lens

Season 27

2025 episodes

Episodes

1
Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution

Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution

Oct 6, 202585m

Phil Sharp's RNA discovery reshaped science, medicine, and the global biotech industry.

2
Ratified

Ratified

Oct 20, 202584m

A bipartisan coalition continues a century-long fight to add gender equality into the Constitution.

3
Life After

Life After

Oct 27, 202584m

Disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport investigates assisted dying and uncovers how ableism, policy, and systemic failures can make death seem like the only option. Who gets real choice -- and who doesn't -- in life and death?

4
Vivien's Wild Ride

Vivien's Wild Ride

Jan 26, 202685m

When her eyesight begins to fade, a film editor reimagines belonging and what it truly means to see.

5
The Librarians

The Librarians

Feb 9, 202686m

Librarians across the U.S. examine how restrictions on library content are shaping communities. Drawing on historical context, the film explores the broader implications for education and public life.

6
The Inquisitor

The Inquisitor

Feb 23, 202686m

Barbara Jordan was a groundbreaking Texas congresswoman whose sharp intellect and moral clarity transformed U.S. politics. From Nixon's impeachment to civil rights battles, her voice demanded accountability, while she privately faced struggles few ever knew of.

7
Keep Quiet and Forgive

Keep Quiet and Forgive

Mar 23, 202685m

Three decades after her assault, Lizzie confronts her Amish community’s silence around sexual abuse. She leads a movement to support fellow Amish and Mennonite survivors as they navigate trauma, faith, and family ties. With rare access, Keep Quiet and Forgive follows Lizzie and other survivors as they fight to replace “forgive and forget” with healing and justice.

8
The Tallest Dwarf

The Tallest Dwarf

Apr 6, 202686m

The Tallest Dwarf follows filmmaker Julie Forrest Wyman as she searches for her place in the little people community and unpacks rumors of dwarfism in her own family. Through intimate stories, creative collaborations, and archival history, the film delves into identity and medicine, asking whether society should change people or the structures that limit them.

9
BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing

BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing

Apr 13, 202656m

Immigrant grooms work year-round on the hidden “backside” of Churchill Downs. Rising before dawn, they care for some of the world’s most prized Kentucky Derby racehorses, revealing how race, labor, and class shape an elite American industry. BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing honors the resilience that’s behind the spectacle.

10
Natchez

Natchez

May 11, 2026

Natchez, Mississippi, is famous for its antebellum homes, but what's left out of the tours?

11
Light of the Setting Sun

Light of the Setting Sun

May 18, 2026

One family. Four generations shaped by displacement and trauma.

12
Third Act

Third Act

May 25, 2026

A filmmaker honors his father's legacy of art, activism, and resilience across generations.

13
Assembly

Assembly

Jun 22, 2026

Vogue, AI, and identity collide as an artist creates an exhibition honoring Black and queer culture.

14

True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power

Jul 6, 2026

How 1960s Montreal helped shape the global movement for Black liberation.

15
Flood

Flood

Jul 13, 2026

A filmmaker revisits her evangelical roots to find connection with her estranged father.