''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

s made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic '' What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned nom ...

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...

Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), and Nurse Jackie Peyton on the Showtime series ''Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015). She also ...

Terrence Howard Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films ''Dead Presidents'' and '' Mr. Holland's Opus'', Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema roles ...

Maggie Gyllenhaal Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal (; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs, and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenh ...

America Ferrera America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featu ...

, Mary-Louise Parker, and

Stanley Tucci Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. Involved in acting from a young age, he made his film debut in John Huston's '' Prizzi's Honor'' (1985), and continued to play a variety of supporting roles in fil ...

, who served two stints as host from 2012-2014. The series began in 1999 and for three years aired 10 episodes each fall season. In

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, PBS announced that in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

the series would relaunch with ITVS as the production company, under the leadership of Sally Jo Fifer and Lois Vossen, and would expand to 29 primetime episodes a year. The 2019-20 season is regarded as the 18th season for the series. ''Independent Lens'' has won six Primetime Emmy Awards and 20 films have won News & Documentary Emmy Awards. In 2012, " Have You Heard From Johannesburg?" won for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking; in 2007, '' A Lion in the House'' won for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking; and ''

A Lion's Trail ''A Lion's Trail'' is a 2002 documentary film by François Verster about the rights for the popular song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", also known as "Wimoweh", "Wimba Way" or "Awimbawe", a song written and recorded by the South African shepherd and ...

'' won in 2006 for Outstanding Cultural and Artistic Programming. Three other films won for Best Documentary: ''Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life'' in 2008, ''

Be Good, Smile Pretty BE or be may refer to: Linguistics * ''To be'', the English copular verb * Be (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet * ''be'' (interjection), in several languages * Be language or Ong Be, a language of northern Hainan province, China *Bla ...

'' in 2004, and '' Sing Faster: The Stagehands' Ring Cycle'' in 2000. Four ''Independent Lens'' films won News & Documentary Emmys in 2017 alone: ''

The Armor of Light ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''; '' (T)error''; '' Best of Enemies''; and ''

In Football We Trust IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Inde ...

''. As well, seven ''Independent Lens'' films garnered

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations for Best Documentary: '' Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room'' (2006), ''

The Weather Underground The Weather Underground was a far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organized as a faction of Students for a Democr ...

'' (2004), '' Waste Land'' (2010), ''

Hell and Back Again ''Hell and Back Again'' is a 2011 American-British-Afghan documentary film produced, shot, and directed by Danfung Dennis, about a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps who returns from the Afghanistan conflict with a badly broken leg and p ...

'' (2011), ''

How to Survive a Plague ''How to Survive a Plague'' is a 2012 American documentary film about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, and the efforts of activist groups ACT UP and TAG. It was directed by David France, a journalist who covered AIDS from its beginnings. Fra ...

'' (2012), ''

I Am Not Your Negro ''I Am Not Your Negro'' is a 2016 documentary film and social critique film essay directed by Raoul Peck, based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript '' Remember This House''. Narrated by actor Samuel L. Jackson, the film explores the histo ...

'' (2016), and ''

Hale County This Morning, This Evening ''Hale County This Morning, This Evening'' is a 2018 American documentary film about the lives of black people in Hale County, Alabama. It is directed by RaMell Ross and produced by RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim, and is Ross's first nonficti ...

'' (2018). Other awards conferred upon ''Independent Lens'' films include the George Foster Peabody Award,

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

Documentary Awards,

Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award The Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award honors excellence in broadcast and digital journalism in the public service and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in journalism. The awards were established in 1942 and administered ...

, and

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

Awards.

Episodes

Audience Award

''Independent Lens'' gives out an annual Audience Award. The TV viewing audience is invited to rate each episode of the series (through online voting), and an award is given to each season's winner. Winners of the Audience Award have included:''Independent Lens'' - About the Audience Award
(retrieved June 3, 2009). *2003 ''Heart of the Sea'' *2004 '' Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew'' *2005 ''On a Roll'' *2006 '' The Devil's Miner'' *2007 ''

China Blue ''China Blue'' is a 2005 documentary film directed by Micha Peled. It follows the life of Jasmine Li, a young seventeen-year-old worker from Sichuan province, in a Chinese jeans factory, ''Lifeng Clothes Factory'' (丽锋服饰制衣有限公司 ...

'' *2008 ''Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula'' *2009 ''Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene'' *2010 ''Mine'' *2011 '' Two Spirits'' *2012 ''Strong!'' and '' Have You Heard from Johannesburg?'' *2013 ''

The Revisionaries ''The Revisionaries'' is a 2012 documentary film about the re-election of Don McLeroy, the former chairman of the Texas Board of Education. The film also details how the Texas Board's decisions on textbook content influence textbooks across the ...

'' *2014 '' Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey'' *2015 ''

Kumu Hina ''Kumu Hina'' is a 2014 American LGBTQ related documentary film co-produced and co-directed by Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson. It is based on the story of Hina Wong-Kalu, and stars Wong-Kalu, Haemaccelo Kalu and Ho'Onani Kamai. The film premiered a ...

'' *2016 '' Trapped'' *2017 ''

They Call Us Monsters ''They Call Us Monsters'' is a 2016 American documentary directed and produced by Ben Lear. The film follows three juveniles: Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava. The teenagers participate in a screenwriting class at Barry J. Nidorf Juveni ...

'' *2018 '' Unrest'' *2019 ''Out of State''

References

External links

Independent Lens , PBS Web siteITVS.org Independent Lens series pageIndependent Lens blog
* {{PBSTV PBS original programming 2003 American television series debuts 2000s American documentary television series 2010s American documentary television series Peabody Award-winning television programs Documentary film series

Episodes

Audience Award

See also

References

External links