Encompassing the full spectrum of film — from history to drama to animation to shorts to social-issue films — this anthology series allows audiences greater access to powerful and innovative programs united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of their independent producers. Maggie Gyllenhaal hosts the new season.

Tuesday, April 5, 11:00 p.m.
Desert of Forbidden Art
Desert of Forbidden Art is the incredible true story of how one man, Igor Savitsky, saved a treasure trove of art worth millions of dollars by "hiding" it in a museum in the desert in Uzbekistan. A tireless collector of paintings that the Soviet government wanted destroyed, Savitsky traveled thousands of miles scheming, plotting, pleading, doing whatever it took to get his hands on the art he so passionately wanted to preserve.

Tuesday, April 12, 11:00 p.m.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
Centered on a rare interview that director Tamra Davis shot with her friend and contemporary Jean-Michel Basquiat over 20 years ago, INDEPENDENT LENS Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child is the definitive chronicle of the short but brilliant life of the young artist who revolutionized the New York art scene almost overnight.

Tuesday, April 19 at 11:00 p.m.
Waste Land
Filmed over nearly three years, Lucy Walker’s Waste Land follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his home country of Brazil, and to Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest garbage dump located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There Muniz photographs an eclectic band of catadores — pickers of recyclable materials — and works with them to “paint” their portraits using garbage. The resulting collaboration with these inspiring characters provides profoundly moving evidence of the trans formative power of art and its impact on the human spirit.

Tuesday, April 26 at 11:00 p.m.
Marwencol
In 2008, Mark Hogancamp was attacked outside of a bar in New York, by five men who nearly beat him to death. Mark suffered brain damage and physical injuries so severe even his own mother didn't recognize him. After nine days in a coma and 40 days in the hospital, Mark was discharged with little memory of his previous life. Unable to afford therapy, Mark decided to create his own. In his backyard, he built Marwencol, a 1/6th scale World War II-era town that he populated with dolls representing his friends, family, and even his attackers. After a few years, Mark started documenting his miniature dramas with his camera. Through Mark’s lens, these were no longer dolls – they were living, breathing characters in an epic story full of violence, jealousy, longing, and revenge.

 

Visit the web site at www.pbs.org/independentlens.