Series & Collections

The Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens on PBS returns for its 13th season, with a new slate of acclaimed, original documentaries, made by award-winning independent filmmakers. The new season takes viewers around the globe to communities they wouldn't otherwise get to know, to explore fascinating human stories. Independent Lens airs Monday nights at 10/9c (check local listings).

Global Voices presents premiere and encore broadcasts of internationally themed documentaries made by independent filmmakers from around the world. From Indonesia to El Salvador and India to Ethiopia, Global Voices tells compelling stories from a global perspective with an intimate, upfront view. Global Voices can be seen on the WORLD Channel, Sundays at 10 PM ET and 7 PM PT (Check local listings).

The Global Perspectives Collection encompasses more than 140 ITVS-funded films from over nearly 90 countries around the world. These independent documentaries capture ordinary and compelling voices from the filmmakers’ own communities, offering diverse perspectives on social issues, politics, and much more. The collection’s films have aired on acclaimed PBS series and many commercial outlets, including digital platforms.

Why do a billion people still live in poverty worldwide, and what can be done to change this? The series Why Poverty? uses documentary film to get people talking about this critical problem, its causes, and its solutions. These eight films are co-productions of ITVS and STEPS International, and are part of a global cross-media project aimed at raising awareness of poverty in America and around the world.

Diverse Muslim Voices builds awareness and understanding in the U.S. of the range of Muslim societies and cultures. Advancing the mission of ITVS’s Global Perspectives Project, a two-way exchange of independent documentaries, the multiyear project elevates stories about Muslim cultures through multiplatform promotion and distribution and ignites citizen engagement through live events and educational programs.

FUTURESTATES returns! And this time, we're breaking all the rules. For its fifth and final season, the series has been rebooted as an immersive and interactive futuristic world of interconnected stories from a diverse group of indie filmmakers and interactive digital storytellers. It's a whole new genre of web series and it all begins with you. Unlock your potential. Explore the future. Only at futurestates.tv

True Stories: Life in the USA shows international audiences an America rarely seen in headline news or commercial media, providing a more authentic perspective of the United States and its people. ITVS works closely with public media broadcasters around the world to present this 16-part independent documentary series that challenges preconceived notions, and to show the world the true stories of America.