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Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai

by Lisa Merton and Alan Dater

The dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, whose simple act of planting trees grew into a global movement.

Women of the World, Global Voices, Women and Girls Lead, Global Perspectives Collection, Independent Lens

The Trials of Muhammad Ali

by Bill Siegel and Kartemquin Films

The Trials of Muhammad Ali covers Ali's toughest bout: his battle to overturn the five-year prison sentence he received for refusing U.S. military service. The film explores Ali's exile years when he was banned from boxing and found himself in the crosshairs of conflicts concerning race, religion, and wartime dissent.

Independent Lens

Tulia, Texas

by Cassandra Herrman and Kelly Whalen

Tulia, Texas is the story of a small town’s search for justice and the price Americans pay for the nation’s war on drugs.

Independent Lens

Welcome to Shelbyville

by Kim A. Snyder

On the eve of the 2008 election, the town of Shelbyville, Tennessee finds itself embroiled in a struggle to come to terms with a new wave of immigrants and grappling with what it means to be American.

Independent Lens, Diverse Muslim Voices

Watch it online

When I Rise

by Mat Hames, James Moll, and Michael Rosen

When I Rise is about Barbara Smith Conrad, a gifted University of Texas music student who finds herself at the epicenter of racial controversy, struggling against the odds and ultimately ascending to the heights of international opera.

Women and Girls Lead, Independent Lens

Watch it online

Why Can't We Be a Family Again?

by Roger Weisberg and Murray Nossel

An Academy Award-nominated cinema vérité portrait of the bond that develops between two brothers who long to be reunited with their mother, who is waging an agonizing battle with crack addiction.

Independent Lens

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