Visit Your Local PBS Station PBS Home PBS Home Programs A-Z TV Schedules Watch Video Support PBS Shop PBS Search PBS
Independent Lens
RSS Search Indie Lens

About Program Guide Video Community Cinema Classroom Your Lens Inside Indies
Program Guide
Independent Lens is broadcast on most PBS stations on Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
Please check the broadcast schedule. Dates and times may vary.

Watch Indie Lens films online >>
Independent Lens Newsletter
Get broadcast notifications. Sign Up!
Browse by Topic

Currently Featured

A balding man in plain gray T-shirt sits at a desk and holds a computer keyboard up, as if showing it to the camera.
November 24 at 10 p.m.
OBJECTIFIED
by Gary Hustwit
How does the design of your cell phone, toothbrush or couch impact your life? Did you ever stop to think about it? Director Gary Hustwit (HELVETICA) looks at our complex relationship with manufactured objects, the people who design them and the creative process behind their work. Step inside the offices of the world’s most influential product designers to see how these objects influence us—oftentimes without us even knowing it.
websitebroadcastpreviewtalkback

Coming Up

A middle-aged  man with a beard faces the camera with his hands joined together and his fingers pointing out. A paper sculpture is in the foreground.
December 8 at 10 p.m.
BETWEEN THE FOLDS
by Vanessa Gould
Think origami is just paper planes and cranes? Meet a determined group of theoretical scientists and fine artists who have abandoned careers and scoffed at hard-earned graduate degrees to forge new lives as modern-day paper folders. Together they reinterpret the world in paper, creating a wild mix of sensibilities towards art, science, creativity and meaning.
websitebroadcastpreview
Head shot of a young man with a shaved head and neatly trimmed goatee, wearing a black dress shirt and red necktie. He looks at the camera with a slight smile. In the background is a statue of a saint.
December 29 at 10 p.m.
SCENES FROM A PARISH
by James Rutenbeck
When a young, irreverent priest arrives at Saint Patrick Parish in Lawrence, Massachusetts, he discovers the unexpected—boiling ethnic tensions in a changing working-class community. Filmed over four years, follow the wildly diverse personal stories of Father Paul O’Brien and his unruly flock, as they struggle to hold onto faith in the face of desperate circumstances.
websitebroadcastpreview

Previously Featured

Black and white photo of two  men with short beards; one is taller and more heavy-set and wears dark sunglasses; the other wears a baseball cap. Both are looking at and putting their hands on something off camera. Behind them is a building with a porch.
November 17 at 10 p.m.
They took Hollywood by storm—escaping the brutal Soviet oppression of the Hungarian Revolution and rising to fame with classic films like Easy Rider, Deliverance, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Deer Hunter. Cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond pioneered the “American New Wave,” defining innovative ways to tell stories. This is an intimate portrait of the 50-year journey of two giants of modern image making and their deep bond of brotherhood that transcended every imaginable boundary.
websitebroadcastpreviewtalkback
Photo of a youngish man with large frizzy hair and a mustache, standing with his head turned in profile; an illustration of lungs, heart and kidneys and a dotted line connecting them is superimposed over his body.
November 10 at 10 p.m.
D TOUR
by Jim Granato
Pat Spurgeon has big dreams to make it as an indie rock musician. Just as his career is about to take off, he suffers an incredible setback when one of his kidneys begins to fail. Follow Pat on his emotional search for a living organ donor. But can he balance his health with a rock 'n’ roll lifestyle?
websitebroadcastpreviewtalkback
Two Native American women, one pregnant, and two small children stand together looking up. The tallest woman points her finger up in the air. Beside them is a piece of white building material.
November 3 at 10 p.m.
POWER PATHS
by Bo Boudart
It’s time to cut our dependence on fossil fuel and pursue renewable energy. But how can it be done? Native American tribes turn to solar and wind sources to provide clean sustainable energy for cities across the West. Their traditional values toward conservation and the earth offer real solutions to America’s energy crisis.
websitebroadcastpreviewtalkback
Head shot of a young Indian man wearing a black shirt with a red and gray pattern on the front. He looks at the camera with a neutral expression.
October 27 at 10 p.m.
Forget Slumdog Millionaire—here’s the real-life story of survival on the streets of India. Follow Azad, a young pickpocket, who pushes his limits only to get caught by the police. In an effort to crack down on more serious crime, the police offer Azad a full pardon. But there’s a catch—he must turn in his fellow grifters. Will he collaborate or risk it all for life on the streets?
websitebroadcastpreviewtalkback
An old black and white photo shows a group of workers standing at the entrance to a mine; some stand on the ground while others stand on a platform above their heads.
October 20 at 10 p.m.
BUTTE, AMERICA
by Pamela Roberts
You see the world differently when you work underground. That made Butte, Montana different right from the start as immigrants came from around the world to work the mines. But what they blasted out of the 10,000 miles of tunnels was more than just copper. It was the rise of unions and multinational corporations, and the seeds of the current debate over the environment.
websitebroadcastpreviewtalkback
An elderly  man and woman sit together at a small kitchen table with a colorful abstract painting on the wall behind them.
October 13 at 10 p.m.
HERB & DOROTHY
by Megumi Sasaki
He was a postal clerk. She was a librarian. With modest means, this couple managed to build one of the most important modern art collections in history. Meet Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, whose shared passion and commitment defied stereotypes and redefined what it means to be an art collector.
websitebroadcastpreviewtalkback
top
IL Home Home | About | Program Guide | Video | Community Cinema | Classroom | Your Lens | Inside IndiesContact Us Get the Newsletter
Pressroom     © Independent Television Service (ITVS). All rights reserved. | PBS Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Credits

presented by ITVS   funded by The Corporation For Public Broadcasting Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people

with additional support from The National Endowment for the Arts the National Endowment for the Arts