Episode guide
Independent Lens: Season 27
15 episodes · premiered Oct 5, 2025
TMDB has no overview for this season.
- Episode 1: Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution Oct 6, 2025 · 1h 25m Phil Sharp's RNA discovery reshaped science, medicine, and the global biotech industry.
- Episode 2: Ratified Oct 20, 2025 · 1h 24m A bipartisan coalition continues a century-long fight to add gender equality into the Constitution.
- Episode 3: Life After Oct 27, 2025 · 1h 24m 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…
- Episode 4: Vivien's Wild Ride Jan 26, 2026 · 1h 25m When her eyesight begins to fade, a film editor reimagines belonging and what it truly means to see.
- Episode 5: The Librarians Feb 9, 2026 · 1h 26m 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…
- Episode 6: The Inquisitor Feb 23, 2026 · 1h 26m 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…
- Episode 7: Keep Quiet and Forgive Mar 23, 2026 · 1h 25m 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…
- Episode 8: The Tallest Dwarf Apr 6, 2026 · 1h 26m Follow 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…
- Episode 9: BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing Apr 13, 2026 · 56m 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…
- Episode 10: Natchez May 11, 2026 · 1h 26m Antebellum homes draw visitors to Natchez, Mississippi, but not everyone agrees on the stories being told. As tour guides, homeowners, and activists navigate competing histories, the town…
- Episode 11: Light of the Setting Sun May 18, 2026 · 1h 12m A Chinese family’s multigenerational trauma unfolds across time, place, and identity. Turning the camera inward, filmmaker Vicky Du traces her family’s mental illness back to the Chinese…
- Episode 12: Third Act May 25, 2026 · 1h 26m Generations call Robert A. Nakamura the godfather of Asian American film. Tadashi Nakamura calls him Dad. Tadashi turns the camera on his father as they confront art, activism, and aging…
- Episode 13: Assembly Jun 22, 2026 · 56m Artist Rashaad Newsome prepares to showcase "Assembly," a groundbreaking exhibit at New York’s Park Avenue Armory. By blending visual art, performance, and artificial intelligence, the…
- Episode 14: True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power Jul 6, 2026 · 1h 27m Through rare archival footage and firsthand accounts, True North revisits 1968 Montreal, where Black liberation movements converged at the Congress of Black Writers. As student protests…
- Episode 15: Flood Jul 13, 2026 · 1h 16m Returning home to California’s Inland Empire, filmmaker Katy Scoggin seeks to reconnect with her estranged father, who works as an elementary science teacher. He is the only evangelical…