About Independent Lens
About Independent Lens
About
Authentic stories. Extraordinary people.
Watch and stream Independent Lens anytime on the PBS app. Find out what’s coming soon.
“Our documentaries honor individuals whose determination in the face of challenge reflect major issues impacting our nation and our world,” says Lois Vossen, Executive Producer of Independent Lens. “These films are intensely personal and yet speak to universal challenges. They show how there is possibility for progress against even the most intractable challenges, when people come together in hope and purpose.”
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About Independent Lens
Awards and Accolades
Below is a partial list of awards bestowed upon Independent Lens films over the years:
Academy Award Nominations
Writing With Fire by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh — Best Documentary (2022)
Hale County This Morning, This Evening by RaMell Ross — Best Documentary (2019)
I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck — Best Documentary (2017)
The Invisible War by Kirby Dick — Best Documentary (2013)
How to Survive a Plague by David France — Best Documentary (2013)
Hell and Back Again by Danfung Dennis — Best Documentary (2012)
Waste Land by Lucy Walker — Best Documentary (2011)
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room by Alex Gibney — Best Documentary (2006)
The Weather Underground by Sam Green and Bill Siegel — Best Documentary (2004)
Why Can’t We Be a Family Again? by Roger Weisberg and Murray Nossel — Best Documentary Short (2002)
Emmy Awards
When Claude Got Shot by Brad Lichtenstein – Primetime Emmy, Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking (2022)
Belly of the Beast by Erika Cohn — Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary (2021)
Feels Good Man by Arthur Jones and Giorgio Angelini — Outstanding Research: Documentary (2021)
I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck – Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary (2019)
Dawnland by Adam Mazo and Ben Pender-Cudlip – Outstanding Research (2019)
Wildland by Kahlil Hudson and Alex Jablonski – Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary (2019)
Wildland by Kahlil Hudson and Alex Jablonski – Outstanding Editing: Documentary (2019)
TOWER by Keith Maitland – Best Historical Documentary (2018)
The Armor of Light by Abigail Disney – Outstanding Social Issue Documentary (2017)
Best of Enemies by Morgan Neville & Robert Gordon – Outstanding Historical Documentary (2017)
In Football We Trust by Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn – Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary (2017)
(T)ERROR by Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe – Outstanding Investigative Documentary (2017)
The Homestretch by Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly – Outstanding Business and Economic Reporting – Long Form (2016)
Medora by Andrew Cohn and Davy Rothbart – Outstanding Business and Economic Reporting – Long Form (2015)
The Trials of Muhammad Ali by Bill Siegel – Outstanding Historical Documentary – Long Form (2015)
The Invisible War by Kirby Dick — Best Documentary (2014)
The Invisible War by Kirby Dick – Outstanding Investigative Journalism – Long Form (2014)
Detropia by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady — Outstanding Editing: Documentary and Long Form (2014)
Desert of Forbidden Art by Amanda Pope & Tchavdar Georgiev — Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Music & Sound (2012)
The Woodmans by C. Scott Willis — Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming (2012)
Have You Heard From Johannesburg by Connie Field — Primetime Emmy Award for Special Merit in Nonfiction Film (2012)
Art & Copy by Doug Pray — Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming Emmy Award (2011)
Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life by Robert Levi — Best Documentary (2008)
A Lion in the House by Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar — Primetime Emmy, Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking (2007)
A Lion’s Trail by Francois Verster, Mark J. Kaplan, and Dan Jawitz — Outstanding Cultural and Artistic Programming (2006)
Be Good, Smile Pretty by Tracy Droz Tragos — Best Documentary (2004)
Sing Faster: The Stagehands’ Ring Cycle by Jon Else — Best Documentary (2000)
Television Academy Honors Awards
Greener Pastures by Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian (2025)
George Foster Peabody Awards
One With the Whale by Jim Wickens and Peter Chelkowski (2024)
The Picture Taker by Phil Bertelsen – Finalist (2023)
Writing With Fire by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh (2023)
Missing in Brooks County by Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss (2023)
World Without Oil by Ken Eklund – Peabody Legacy Award Winner (2021)
9to5: The Story of a Movement by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar – Finalist (2021)
Storm Lake by Jerry Risius and Beth Levison – Finalist (2021)
Mr. SOUL! by Melissa Haizlip (2021)
Philly D.A. by Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, and Nicole Salazar (2021)
Belly of the Beast by Erika Cohn — Finalist (2020)
One Child Nation by Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang — Finalist (2019)
Hale Country This Morning, This Evening by RaMell Ross (2019)
I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck – Finalist (2018)
Dolores by Peter Bratt (2018)
The Judge by Erika Cohn (2018)
The Bad Kids by Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe – Finalist (2017)
TOWER by Keith Maitland – Finalist (2017)
Newtown by Kim Snyder (2017)
Trapped by Dawn Porter (2016)
The Armor of Light by Abigail Disney and Kathleen Hughes — Finalist (2016)
The Black Panthers by Stanley Nelson — Finalist (2016)
1971 by Johanna Hamilton — Finalist (2015)
India’s Daughter by Leslee Udwin (2015)
Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People by Thomas Allen Harris — Finalist (2015)
Brakeless by Kyoko Miyake (2014)
The House I Live In by Eugene Jarecki (2013)
How to Survive a Plague by David France (2013)
The Invisible War by Kirby Dick (2013)
Summer Pasture by Lynn True and Nelson Walker (2012)
Park Avenue by Alex Gibney (2012) (won as part of the Why Poverty? series).
Solar Mamas by Mona Eldaief and Jehane Noujaim (2012) (won as part of the Why Poverty? series).
Bhutto by Duane Baughman (2011)
Reel Injun: On the Trail of the Hollywood Indian by Neil Diamond (2010)
Between the Folds by Vanessa Gould (2009)
The Order of Myths by Margaret Brown (2009)
King Corn by Aaron Woolf, Curt Ellis, and Ian Cheney (2008)
Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita by Maria Finitzo (2008)
Sisters in Law by Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi (2007)
Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life by Robert Levi (2007)
Still Life with Animated Dogs by Paul Fierlinger (2001)
Travis by Richard Kotuk (1998)
duPont-Columbia Awards
Philly D.A. by Ted Passon and Yoni Brook (2022)
Bedlam by Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, M.D. (2021)
The Revisionaries by Scott Thurman (2014)
Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry by Alison Klayman (2013)
Hell and Back Again by Danfung Dennis (2012)
Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story by Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim (2008)
Seoul Train by Jim Butterworth and Lisa Sleeth (2006)
Sundance Film Festival Awards
Writing With Fire by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh — World Cinema Documentary Competition, Special Jury Award for Impact and Change (2021)
Feels Good Man by Arthur Jones and Giorgio Angelini — U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker (2020)
One Child Nation by Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang — Documentary Competition, Grand Jury Prize (2019)
Always in Season by Jacqueline Olive — Special Jury Award for Moral Urgency (2019)
The Force by Peter Nicks — Directing Award: U.S. Documentary (2017)
RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World by Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana – World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Masterful Storytelling (2017)
Unrest by Jen Brea — U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing (2017)
Winnie by Pascale Lamche — Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary (2017)
Trapped by Dawn Porter – Special Jury Award — Social Impact Filmmaking (2017)
Rich Hill by Tracy Droz Tragos & Andrew Droz Palermo — Grand Jury Documentary Prize
Happiness by Thomas Balmès — World Cinema Documentary Cinematography (2014)
Blood Brother by Steve Hoover — Audience Award (2013)
Blood Brother by Steve Hoover — Grand Jury Prize (2013)
The House I Live In by Eugene Jarecki — Grand Jury Prize (2012)
The Invisible War by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering — Audience Award (2012)
Love Free or Die by Macky Alston — Special Jury Prize (2012)
Detropia by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady — Best Editing (2012)
A Film Unfinished by Yael Hersonski — World Cinema Documentary Editing Award (2010)
Waste Land by Lucy Walker — World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary (2010)
Brother to Brother by Rodney Evans — Special Jury Prize, Drama (2004)
Imelda by Ramona Diaz — Excellence in Cinematography Award, Documentary (2004)
Sing Faster: The Stagehands’ Ring Cycle by Jon Else — Filmmaker’s Trophy (1999)
About Independent Lens
Brand Book
Welcome to our Independent Lens Brand Book. We’re excited and grateful that you’re here to explore it.
With your help, we can keep the Independent Lens brand vital and strong. Now, if you’re ready to dive in, let’s go…
About Independent Lens
Contact
We are always interested in what you have to say. We get a lot of emails and cannot respond to all of it. Please review our FAQ to make sure your questions aren’t already addressed there. If you’d like to leave us a comment, we promise that we do read all of the messages that we receive.
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About Independent Lens
Credits
President and CEO
Carrie Lozano
INDEPENDENT LENS BROADCAST SERIES PRODUCTION
Executive Producer
Lois Vossen
Co-Programmer
Noland Walker
Executive Producer
Carrie Lozano
Chief Operating Officer
Janice Hui
Sr. Vice President of Content
Jim Sommers
Executive Producer
Royd Chung
Vice President of Marketing & Communications
Lisa Tawil
SERIES PRODUCTION
Series Producer
Ainè Henderson
Post Production Supervisor
Raul Mendez
Series Coordinating Producer
Julia Shackelford
Online Editors
Heather Weaver
Ramiro Segura
Series Production Coordinator
Moriah Prescia
CREATIVE SERVICES
Creative Director
Jon Crawford
Art Director
Michael Silva
Sr. Creative Producer
Andrea Bloom
Sr. Editor/Producer
Daniel L. Telles
Editor/Producer
Hank Liu
Assistant Editor
Wangyuxuan Yu
MARKETING & PUBLICITY
Aisha Almada
Jamedra Brown Fleischman
Nicholas Green
Jasmine Lee
Aldo Mora-Blanco
Jayda Patterson
Kyle Skinner
Judy Tsang
Amanda Woolery
BROADCAST & DISTRIBUTION
Lindsey Hodgson
Bomion Spring Kim
ENGAGEMENT & IMPACT
Grace Anglin
Beatriz Castillo
Kristy Chin
Carly Nelson Marcoe
Eric Martin
Zoe Stahl
BUSINESS & LEGAL AFFAIRS
Kevin Wong
Heather World
About Independent Lens
FAQ
- When will a documentary be available again?
- My station never carries Independent Lens at the time I see advertised, Mondays at 10 p.m. What’s the deal?
- How can I find out if or when a documentary is airing on my public television station?
- What happens with social issue documentaries beyond the Independent Lens broadcast?
- How does Independent Lens curate its slate?
- What kinds of comments do you allow on social media?
When will a documentary be available again?
Your best bet is to download the PBS app to be the first to know when Independent Lens documentaries come back for a limited time.
Check your local listings for the Independent Lens schedule in your area. Contact your local station directly to let them know if you are interested in seeing an Independent Lens documentary rebroadcast, or to inquire about any future plans to show the documentary.
How can I find out when a documentary premieres?
Sign up for the Independent Lens newsletter. The newsletter will remind you about upcoming Independent Lens documentaries. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads and Instagram.
We love that our community extends a documentary reach by cultivating new audiences and advancing civic dialogue–transforming stories into tools for education. Visit Indie Lens Pop-Up to find out more.
How does Independent Lens curate its slate of documentaries?
Read more about our selection process.
What kinds of comments do you allow on social media?
Read our comment guidelines.
About Independent Lens
Newsletter
When you sign up for the Independent Lens newsletter, we’ll let you know about new docs available coming to YouTube and the PBS app.
Have questions? Email us at independentlens@itvs.org and we’ll do our best to help.
All information collected is for Independent Lens use only and will not be distributed to any companies, organizations, or individuals.
About Independent Lens
Selection Process
Independent Lens curates a slate of the highest quality documentaries made by diverse filmmakers who fulfill public media’s commitment to equity and inclusion for underrepresented communities and under-served audiences.
We select projects from the ITVS Open Call co-production pipeline, films that impress on the film festival circuit, and documentaries discovered by our programming staff. When selecting documentaries, Independent Lens considers a range of factors, including the quality of the filmmaking, the timeliness of the story, and audience appeal. Documentaries should offer a fresh perspective, especially if the topic has been explored on other PBS series.
Independent Lens no longer reviews unsolicited submissions.