Two documentary television series bring stories from around the world to home viewers in the United States and eight other countries, and producers plan to expand their reach in coming years.

The Independent Television Service (ITVS) [http://www.itvs.com] has produced a series of documentary films that is shown in the United States on member stations of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). Called Independent Lens, the series includes films of

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill will air this year on the television series Independent Lens. © Judy Irving/ITVS

both U.S. and foreign origin. Information about the program can be found at http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/about.html. One critic called the series "the greatest showcase for independent film on television today" (especially for those without access to the Sundance Channel, which is available on only some cable systems); ITVS calls it "a film festival in your living room."

Each season, about a fifth of the stories are made by filmmakers working and living outside the United States. More and more of these movies are made by filmmakers who are not U.S. citizens, telling stories about their country, their culture, and their people. The 2006-2007 season of Independent Lens included the following international films: Shadya, the story of a 17-year-old Muslim girl living in Israel, who must balance her religious comkmitments

Shadya is about a 17-year-old female karate world champion who lives in a small Muslim village in northern Israel. © Courtesy of Budoco, Ltd./ITVS

and others' expectations as she succeeds as a world champion in karate; Motherland Afghanistan, in which one of the filmmakers looks at her own father's struggles as an obstetrician in Afghanistan, where nearly one in seven women die in childbirth; and Revolucion: Five Visions, the stories of five Cuban photographers who have lived and worked for more than four decades, covering everything from the Cuban Revolución to contemporary life in their country.

Other films presented in the current season include Black Gold; Calicot; China Blue; Democracy on Deadline: The Global Struggle for an Independent Press; Beyond the Call; The World According to Sesame Street; Paris, 1951; The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill; Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room; and The Cats of Mirikitani.

A number of film celebrities have hosted Independent Lens over the years, including the current host, award-winning actor Terrence Howard, who starred in the hit independent films Hustle and Flow and Crash. Previous hosts have included Edie Falco, Susan Sarandon, Don Cheadle, and Angela Bassett.

Offered to foreign audiences, its sister series True Stories: Life in the USA is a groundbreaking 16-part documentary series, hosted by Benicio Del Toro, that shares

The World According to Sesame Street is a documentary about international versions of the award-winning children's television series. The movie includes such characters as Kami from the South African program, Takalani Sesame. Photo Linda Hawkins Costigan/ITVS

the stories of American people and places with international audiences. Made by independent filmmakers, these films show the richness and complexity of life in the United States, from American Indian reservations to the Mexican border, from surfers to poets, fishermen, and coal miners.

Working closely with television broadcasters around the world, True Stories makes these programs accessible free of charge to audiences that have little exposure to independent documentaries, offering views of the United States rarely seen in the headline news or commercial media. In 2006 True Stories was broadcast on public broadcasting systems in Peru [http://www.irtp.com.pe], Malawi, and Egypt [http://www.ertu.gov.eg]. In 2007 the series will expand to include public broadcasting systems in Colombia [http://www.rtvc.gov.co], Bahrain [http://www.bahraintv.com], Indonesia [http://www.tvri.co.id], Bangladesh, and Hong Kong. The series' producers plan to expand the reach each year.

The current season will include American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawaii; Downside Up; Family Undertaking; First Person Plural; In My Corner; In the Light of Reverence; Kiss My Wheels; Larry vs. Lockney; Los Angeles Now; Maid in America; On a Roll: Family, Disability, and the American Dream; Outside Looking In: Transracial Adoption in America; The Split Horn: Life of a Hmong Shaman in America; Summerstock; Taking the Heat: The First Women Firefighters of New York City; and Troop 1500.