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The Best Episodes of Independent Lens Season 17

Every episode of Independent Lens Season 17 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Independent Lens Season 17!

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This acclaimed Emmy Award-winning anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of their independent producers and featuring unforgettable stories about a

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 1 - Stray Dog
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #1 - Stray Dog

    S17:E1

    The portrait of a motorcycle-riding Vietnam veteran. There’s much more to Ron “Stray Dog” Hall than meets the eye. Behind the tattoos and leather vest is a man dedicated to helping his fellow vets and immigrant family as he also comes to terms with his combat experience.

    Director:Debra Granik
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 2 - India's Daughter
    8.9/10(19 votes)

    #2 - India's Daughter

    S17:E2

    The story of the brutal gang rape and murder in Delhi of 23-year-old medical student Jyoti Singh, which sparked outrage and protests in India, a country beset by extreme poverty and gender inequality.

    Director:Leslee Udwin
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 3 - Mimi and Dona
    7.8/10(17 votes)

    #3 - Mimi and Dona

    S17:E3

    What happens when love runs out of time? For 92-year-old Mimi, who has spent much of her life caring for 64-year-old Dona, her daughter with an intellectual disability, it means facing the inevitable — the likelihood that she will not outlive her daughter and the need to find her a new home.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 4 - East of Salinas
    7.1/10(12 votes)

    #4 - East of Salinas

    S17:E4

    Born in Mexico but living in Salinas, California, 3rd-grader Jose loves school. With little support at home, he turns to his teacher, Oscar Ramos, who like Jose was born the son of migrant farm workers, and who inspires him to imagine a life beyond the fields.

    Director:Jackie Mow
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 5 - Chuck Norris vs. Communism
    7.3/10(26 votes)

    #5 - Chuck Norris vs. Communism

    S17:E5

    1980s Romania: thousands of American movies were smuggled through the Iron Curtain, opening a window into the free world. A black market racketeer and a courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the people, and helped spark a revolution.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 6 - Autism in Love
    8.1/10(9 votes)

    #6 - Autism in Love

    S17:E6

    Finding love can be hard enough for anyone, but for those on the autism spectrum, the challenges may seem overwhelming. The disorder can jeopardize the core characteristics of a successful relationship — communication and social interaction. Autism in Love offers a warm and stereotype-shattering look at four people with autism as they pursue and manage romantic relationships.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 7 - No Más Bebés (No More Babies)
    7.6/10(10 votes)

    #7 - No Más Bebés (No More Babies)

    S17:E7

    The story of a little-known but landmark event in reproductive justice, when a small group of Mexican immigrant women sued county doctors, the state, and the U.S. government after they were sterilized while giving birth at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 8 - In Football We Trust
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - In Football We Trust

    S17:E8

    Transporting viewers deep inside the tightly-knit and complex Polynesian community in Salt Lake City, one of the chief sources of the modern influx of Pacific Islander football players to the NFL. Shot over a four-year period with intimate access, this is the story of four young men striving to overcome gang violence and near poverty through the promise of American football.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 9 - A Ballerina's Tale
    7.2/10(6 votes)

    #9 - A Ballerina's Tale

    S17:E9

    Misty Copeland is on a mission to make history by becoming the first African American principal dancer of a major ballet company.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 10 - The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
    8.7/10(21 votes)

    #10 - The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

    S17:E10

    Weaving together a treasure trove of rare footage with the voices of a diverse group of people who were there, Stanley Nelson tells the vibrant story of a pivotal movement as urgent today as it was then.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 11 - (T)ERROR
    6.1/10(13 votes)

    #11 - (T)ERROR

    S17:E11

    With twists and turns fit for an espionage thriller, (T)error goes deep inside an active terror sting without FBI consent.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 12 - Wilhemina’s War
    6.9/10(8 votes)

    #12 - Wilhemina’s War

    S17:E12

    A Southern grandmother struggles to help her granddaughter survive the health risks and social stigma of living with HIV in South Carolina.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 13 - An Honest Liar
    8.0/10(25 votes)

    #13 - An Honest Liar

    S17:E13

    Fed up with faith healers, fortune-tellers, and psychics using his beloved magician’s tricks to swindle money out of credulous people, James “The Amazing” Randi dedicated his life to exposing frauds with the wit and style he brought to his stage show. An Honest Liar is part detective story, part biography, and a bit of a magic act itself.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 14 - Welcome to Leith
    7.2/10(15 votes)

    #14 - Welcome to Leith

    S17:E14

    When a notorious white supremacist and his followers hatch a scheme to gain electoral control of Leith, North Dakota, the residents of the tiny town desperately seek to expel their frightening new neighbors.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 15 - Democrats
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Democrats

    S17:E15

    Rival political operatives attempt to make history as they navigate Zimbabwe's volatile political landscape to draft a new constitution.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 16 - My Nazi Legacy
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - My Nazi Legacy

    S17:E16

    My Nazi Legacy explores the relationship between two men, each of whom are the children of Nazi war criminals who were responsible for thousands of deaths. Through frank interviews with internationally renowned British human rights lawyer Philippe Sands, whose family perished in the Holocaust, the men reflect on the crimes of their fathers and the price of forgiveness.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 17 - Peace Officer
    8.0/10(12 votes)

    #17 - Peace Officer

    S17:E17

    Meet Dub Lawrence, a crusading former sheriff whose investigations highlight increasingly militarized state of American police. Dub established Utah’s first SWAT team, only to see that same unit kill his son-in-law in a controversial standoff.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 18 - The Armor of Light
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - The Armor of Light

    S17:E18

    The Armor of Light follows the journey of Evangelical minister Rob Schenck, who is trying to find the courage to preach about the growing toll of gun violence in America, and Lucy McBath, the mother of an unarmed teenager who was murdered in Florida and whose story cast a spotlight on the state’s “Stand Your Ground” laws.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 19 - Dogtown Redemption
    6.6/10(10 votes)

    #19 - Dogtown Redemption

    S17:E19

    Dogtown Redemption is the story of three recyclers struggling to survive in West Oakland, a neighborhood already decimated by unemployment, addiction, and violence. Their only lifeblood is a controversial recycling center threatened with closure.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 20 - TRAPPED
    7.0/10(9 votes)

    #20 - TRAPPED

    S17:E20

    Trapped goes inside the contentious issue of abortion rights through the story of health care providers in Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama who are struggling to comply with controversial new TRAP laws (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers). The current case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, will decide whether these laws are constitutional.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Independent Lens Season 17 Episode 21 - T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold
    7.4/10(12 votes)

    #21 - T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold

    S17:E21

    Flint, Michigan’s Claressa "T-Rex" Shields won a Gold Medal in 2012, the first time women were allowed to box in the Olympics. T-Rex is a coming-of-age tale of a girl who learns that in Flint, a gold medal doesn't always make life easier.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 17 Ratings Summary

"Stray Dog" is the best rated episode of "Independent Lens" season 17. It scored 7.8/10 based on 9 votes. Directed by Debra Granik and written by Unknown, it aired on 11/9/2015. This episode is rated 1.1 points higher than the second-best, "India's Daughter".