Independent Lens to Stream Ten Films from Past Seasons in Advance of New Season Premiere

(San Francisco, CA) - The award-winning documentary showcase Independent Lens announced today that it will stream ten of its most acclaimed and popular films online as a lead-in to its new season launch. The films will stream at pbs.org/independentlens from Monday, December 12, 2016 through Wednesday, January 11, 2017 except as noted. The upcoming season of Independent Lens debuts with the real-life cross-cultural romantic comedy Meet the Patels on Monday, December 26, 2016 at 9:00 p.m. (check local listings) on PBS. 

The ten streaming films include some of the most popular titles from the over 350 films that have broadcast on Independent Lens since its launch on PBS in 2003: 

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution  by Stanley Nelson (2016)

In the turbulent 1960s, change was coming to America and the fault lines could no longer be ignored — cities were burning, Vietnam was exploding, and disputes raged over equality and civil rights. A new revolutionary culture was emerging and it sought to drastically transform the system. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense would, for a short time, put itself at the vanguard of that change. (Streaming from 12/12-12/26)

Blood Brother by Steve Hoover (2014)

Why would someone leave everything behind to devote their life to helping others? Director Steve Hoover explores that question in this remarkable story of his long-time friend Rocky Braat, who did exactly that. A young man from a fractured family and a troubled past, Braat went traveling through India without a plan. There he met a group of HIV-positive children living in an orphanage — a meeting that changed everything for him. Winner of the 2014 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Crips and Bloods: Made in America by Stacy Peralta (2009)

A cluster of neighborhoods in the heart of Southern California is home to two of America's most infamous gangs, the Crips and the Bloods. Narrated by Forest Whitaker, Crips And Bloods: Made in America combines in-depth interviews with current and former gang members, educators, historians, family members, and experts with archival and present-day footage to graphically portray the rivalry between African American gangs in South Los Angeles.

The Eyes of Me by Keith Maitland (2010)

Filmed over the course of one school year, The Eyes of Me captures the stories of four extraordinary teenagers at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a public residential high school in Austin that has educated visually impaired students for more than 150 years. From the director of TOWER, which premieres on the new season of Independent Lens on February 14, 2017.

The House I Live In by Eugene Jarecki (2013)

For over 40 years, the war on drugs has resulted in more than 45 million arrests, $1 trillion dollars in government spending, and America’s role as the world’s largest jailer. Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available than ever. Filmed in more than 20 states, The House I Live In captures heart-wrenching stories of those on the front lines — from the dealer to the grieving mother, the narcotics officer to the senator, the inmate to the federal judge — and offers a penetrating look at America’s longest war.

King Corn by Aaron Woolf (2008)

Two recent college grads discover where America’s food comes from when they plant a single acre of corn and follow it from the seed to the dinner plate. With the help of government subsidies, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, America’s most subsidized crop has become the staple of its cheapest and most troubling foods.

Marwencol by Jeff Malmberg (2011)

In 2000, Mark Hogancamp was attacked outside a bar and almost beaten to death. Revived by paramedics, he seeks recovery in Marwencol, a 1/6th-scale World War II-era town that he creates in his backyard. When his stunningly realistic photos of Marwencol are discovered and published in an art magazine, Mark’s homemade therapy suddenly becomes "art," forcing him to make a choice between the safety of his fictional town and the real world he's avoided since his attack.

Seeking Asian Female by Debbie Lum (2013)

Two strangers — an older American man and a young Chinese woman — pursue a marriage brokered through the internet, but they get more than they bargained for when she moves across the Pacific to start a new life with him in America, in this intimate and quirky, personal documentary about modern love.

Soul Food Junkies by Byron Hurt (2013)

Filmmaker Byron Hurt grew up eating lots of soul food: buttered biscuits smothered with gravy, bacon, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, and other delicious but fatty foods right out of the black southern tradition. To many African Americans, soul food is sacrament, ritual, and a key expression of cultural identity. But does this traditional cuisine do more harm to health than it soothes the soul?

Twin Sisters by Mona Friis Bertheussen (2014)

In Twin Sisters, twin girls are adopted in China as infants by two different sets of parents — one from California, the other from a remote fishing village in Norway. The girls grow up knowing they have a twin living on the other side of the world, and although language is a barrier, the bond between them grows deeper.

About Independent Lens

Independent Lens is an Emmy® Award-winning weekly series airing on PBS Monday nights at 10:00 PM. The acclaimed series, with Lois Vossen as executive producer, features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by ITVS, the series is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding from PBS, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more visit pbs.org/independentlens. Join the conversation: facebook.com/independentlens and on Twitter @IndependentLens.

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