Independent Lens

After a long career as a commercial and portrait photographer, mischievous San Francisco artist Michael Jang sat for decades on a hidden treasure of pictures taken in his 20s—both candid celebrity shots and a down-to-earth cross-section of Chinese American family life rarely captured so playfully. Then, during the pandemic, Jang set out to share his work with the world, street guerilla-style.

A groundbreaking look at Phil Sharp's rise from being a rural Kentucky farm boy who battled dyslexia to Nobel Prize-winning scientist. Narrated by Mark Ruffalo with insights from Walter Isaacson, "Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution" reveals how Sharp's RNA discovery transformed biology and launched the biotechnology revolution leading to life-saving treatments for millions.

"Ratified" brings the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to life through Virginia's pivotal ratification battle. Led by Black women and with the support of a multi-racial, multi-generational coalition, this documentary traces the legal, political, and deeply personal fight to enshrine gender equality in the U.S. Constitution nearly a century after the ERA was first proposed.

Filmmaker Reid Davenport investigates assisted dying and uncovers how ableism, policy, and systemic failures can make death seem like the only option. With gripping stories and a personal mission, "Life After" explores who gets real choice, and who doesn't, in life and death.