Independent Lens is a television series that airs on the PBS network. The show runs for nine months every year, and each week airs a new documentary film from an independent filmmaker. Some of the films are also made available for online viewing either through the Independent Lens website, or the PBS website or mobile app.
Independent Lens is a part of the larger organization that provides funding for independent films called The Independent Television Service, or ITVS. ITVS International, a division of International Television Service, also oversees an organization that hosts an exchange of documentary films by international producers called the Global Perspectives Project. This helps to bring unique documentary films from all over the world to US viewers.
The filmmakers who air their films on Independent Lens have won numerous awards and are critically acclaimed. The network is proud of the fact that it is able to offer a platform for many unique individuals and situations that might otherwise remain unheard.
The Independent Television service is a nonprofit organization that receives the majority of its funding from public donations made to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The funding is then used for the creation of the Independent Lens documentaries, and to maintain other projects that support a free, independent media.