Independent Lens

Down a Dark Stairwell chronicles the tragic shooting of Akai Gurley, an innocent Black man, in Brooklyn, and the trial and subsequent conviction of the Chinese American police officer, Peter Liang, who pulled the trigger, casting a powerful light on the experiences of two marginalized communities thrust into an uneven criminal justice system together.

Krasner recruits law students to join the next generation of prosecutors leading reform from within. Meanwhile, activists who campaigned for his election make good on their promise to hold Krasner’s feet to the flames, warning him of consequences if he doesn’t accelerate plans to phase out cash bail. The D.A. must decide how bold he can be today without undoing the progress he hopes for tomorrow.

When an on-duty officer shoots and kills a disarmed Black man as he’s running away, the victim’s family and activists cry out for justice. Krasner’s team scrutinizes the case, weighing whether to become the rare District Attorney’s office to pursue murder charges against a cop. As a decision nears, the police union plans to put Krasner on trial in the court of public opinion.

The Kensington neighborhood, plagued by the opioid crisis, is derided by local media as the "Wal-Mart of Heroin," but to Philadelphia City Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez it’s home. The D.A. favors safe injection sites. Locals are fed up. Caught in the middle, Quiñones-Sánchez arranges a town hall, but will Krasner’s brassy style backfire and undermine community support for his unorthodox pla

Convicted of homicide as a teen, Joseph Chamberlain prays for forgiveness while dreaming of a reunion with the love of his life. For years, Philadelphia led the country in sentencing juveniles like Chamberlain to life in prison without parole. Now the D.A.’s office is seeking second chances, but a murder spike that has local media pointing fingers at Krasner threatens to halt their plans.

Activist LaTonya “T” Myers lands her dream job just as she’s beginning a 10-year probation sentence. Any slip could send her back to prison. While “T” petitions the court for freedom for herself and thousands more, the D.A.’s team pursues systemic probation reform, facing judges who embrace extended supervision. It’s a chance they believe will break a major cycle of mass incarceration in Philly.

As a candidate, Larry Krasner pledged his office would never seek the death penalty. That promise is put to the test when a police sergeant is murdered while shopping for his son’s birthday. Krasner faces pressure from the police union, the slain officer’s family, and his own attorneys to pursue the death penalty. Lives—and his credibility—hang in the balance of the D.A.’s biggest decision yet.

Krasner and his team battle for access to the complete police misconduct files as an angry public demands the District Attorney release the names of officers deemed unfit to testify in court. Meanwhile, tensions boil between new Assistant District Attorneys and seasoned veterans in the juvenile unit over new juvenile sentencing alternatives. How hard can the new guard lean on the old to change?

Civil rights champion Larry Krasner defies precedent with a landslide win to become Philadelphia’s District Attorney. Pledging sweeping reform, the new top prosecutor in America’s most incarcerated city fires 31 resistant attorneys, alienating many he needs on his side to enact change. As the staff reels, his team uncovers a secret that shakes the police department.

Down a Dark Stairwell chronicles the tragic shooting of Akai Gurley, an innocent Black man, in Brooklyn, and the trial and subsequent conviction of the Chinese American police officer, Peter Liang, who pulled the trigger, casting a powerful light on the experiences of two marginalized communities thrust into an uneven criminal justice system together.

Coded Bias follows M.I.T. Media Lab computer scientist Joy Buolamwini, along with data scientists, mathematicians, and watchdog groups from all over the world, as they fight to expose the discrimination within facial recognition algorithms now prevalent across all spheres of daily life.

Premiering in 1968, SOUL! was the first nationally broadcast all-Black variety show on public television, merging artists from the margins with post-Civil Rights Black radical thought. Mr. SOUL! delves into this critical moment in television history, as well as the man who guided it, highlighting a turning point in representation whose impact continues to resonate to this day.

When Dolly Parton sang “9 to 5,” she was singing about a real movement that started with a group of secretaries in the early 1970s. Their goals were simple—better pay, more advancement opportunities and an end to sexual harassment—but as seen in 9to5: The Story of a Movement, their fight that inspired a hit would change the American workplace forever.

Director Jared Leto crafts a sweeping yet intimate cross-section of America shot on a single July 4th in 2017 with 92 film crews fanning out across each of the United States and Puerto Rico to capture A Day in the Life of America. A gargantuan production shot over a single 24-hour period across the country, the film weaves a wide range of beliefs and backgrounds into a rich tapestry of life.

In Jonathan Scott's Power Trip, the HGTV home makeover guru shines a light on the obstacles and opportunities for America’s solar industry, following fossil fuel monopolies that halt the growth of renewable energy while visiting with politicians, coal miners, solar panel installers, the Navajo Nation building its own solar plant, and others at the forefront of the battle for energy freedom.

Represent follows three women running for office in the heart of the Midwest leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, as they take on entrenched local political networks and fight to reshape politics on their own terms.

Feels Good Man is the story of how artist Matt Furie, creator of a once-benign comic character named Pepe the Frog, fought an uphill battle to reclaim his iconic creation from those who turned it into a symbol of hate. Feels Good Man is a thought-provoking, wild ride through an Internet that transformed an unlucky cartoon frog, and then the rest of the world.