Summer is a season to take a break from our daily lives so that we can slow things down, spend more time with family and friends, and travel around the world. For us at WORLD, we’re making a shift too – America ReFramed is on pause starting July 18th to make way for a new season of Doc World (but don’t worry, you can still stream America ReFramed films here).
This July, Doc World shares international stories from China, Bolivia and beyond: In Surf Nation, premiering July 18 alongside the 2024 Olympics in Paris, young Chinese surfers aspire to join the national surf team; La Lucha, premiering July 25, follows people with disabilities trekking in wheelchairs across the Andes in a battle for their human rights.
Meanwhile, Independence Day turns our attention to domestic matters – examine the state of our democracy by streaming stories like The Power of a Pardon, and reflect on equity during BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month with films and collections like A Woman on the Outside and Decolonizing Mental Health.
Find balance this month with WORLD films that celebrate our freedoms and explore change that has yet to be realized.
WATCH LIVE
Hummingbirds | POV
July 3 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Silvia and Beba tell their own coming-of-age story, transforming their hometown on the Texas-Mexico border into a wonderland of creative expression and activist hijinks. Filmed collaboratively over the final summer of their fleeting youth, their cinematic self-portrait celebrates the power of friendship and joy as tools of survival and resistance Grand Prize, 2023 Berlinale Generation. A co-presentation with Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB).
Commuted | AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange & America ReFramed
July 4 on TV | Available on YouTube through July 11
In 1993, Danielle Metz was labeled a drug kingpin and sentenced to triple life in California, many miles away from New Orleans and her two children. Metz's sentence was commuted 23 years later. Now back home, she is stepping into a different reality. The film traces Metz's journey in confronting the wounds of incarceration, and to finding purpose, love and unification with her two grown children.
Against the Current: Life on the Eastern Shore | Local, USA
July 8 on TV | Available now on YouTube
Providing a powerful look at how residents of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, like many coastal towns, are subject to rising sea waters and the challenges it has on their lives and livelihood. Through resilience and perseverance, they learn to co-exist and celebrate their rural home. How can this community shed light on conversations happening around these issues of climate change?
Is There Anybody Out There? | POV
July 10 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Born with a rare disability, filmmaker Ella Glendining wonders if there is anyone who can share the experience of living in a body like hers. This simple question – one which non-disabled people take for granted – leads to a journey to not only others who live like her, but to the realization that meeting them changes how she views herself in the world, as well as many surprises along the way.
NEW Surf Nation | Doc World
July 18 on TV, online, the PBS app & YouTube
In Hainan, China’s southernmost province, hundreds of athletes as young as 9-years-old train as part of the Chinese National Surf team. The young recruits, who have left their families, feel the pressure of failure. Over the course of two years, the film follows two of the country's top surfers, Alex, 17, and Lolo, 22, as they train, compete, and discover what they want their lives to be.
Stories from the Stage Marathon
July 21 on TV starting at 7p ET / 4p PT
Tune in for an all-night marathon of Stories from the Stage! Watch some of our favorite stories from the last seven seasons – episode include: Into the Wild, Taking Flight, Adventure Ahead, Experience, Fish Out of Water, First, One Way or Another, Loves Me, Loves Me Not, Animal Companions and Pets.
Two American Families: 1991-2024 | FRONTLINE
July 24 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Filmed over 34 years, two families struggle to survive in a changing American economy. Through hard times, falling wages, and loss of manufacturing jobs, the continuation of Bill Moyers' chronicle of perseverance as the American dream slips away.
NEW La Lucha | Doc World
July 25 on TV, online, the PBS app & YouTube
In Bolivia, activists with disabilities risked everything for dignity. When pleas for a pension were ignored, they united in protest - trekking across the Andes in their wheelchairs. An inspiring journey followed, facing off against a government determined to silence them and a society indifferent to their struggle. But through cold, hunger, and vitriol, their resilience proved unstoppable.
Against the Tide | POV
July 31 on TV, online & on the PBS app
Mumbai fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh are inheritors of the great Koli knowledge system – a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Rakesh has kept faith in traditional fishing methods, while Ganesh has embraced technology. This is a tale of two men’s bond fractured by the weight of a changing world and a sea threatened by climate change. A co-presentation with The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM).
WATCH ONLINE
Summertime | Stories from the Stage
July 1 on TV | Available now online & on the PBS app
Sunny days and balmy nights...moments when anything was possible. Khalilah Jones goes to summer camp for the very first time and learns about more than just campfire songs; when a Yellowstone vacation takes a dangerous turn, Martha Moyer is surprised by her mom’s courageous act; and as a kid in India, Ajay Gallewale discovers baseball and its magical connection to the divine.
Rain or Shine | Stories from the Stage
July 8 on TV | Available now online & on the PBS app
When rain falls, you have to grab an umbrella...just do your best. On a journey to Ellis Island, Roxanna experiences love & hate, companionship & growth; during a holiday in Germany, Kristen drives through a rainstorm to find an unexpected gift; and Don’s commute takes a frightening turn when he spies a tornado.
A Woman on the Outside | America ReFramed
July 11 on TV | Available now online, the PBS app & YouTube
After watching nearly every man in her life disappear into prison, Kristal Bush channels her struggle into reuniting other Philadelphia families divided by incarceration. But when her father and brother come home after decades behind bars, she confronts the greatest challenge yet - can she unite her own family without losing herself?
The Power of a Pardon | Local, USA
July 15 on TV | Available now online & on the PBS app
For five formerly incarcerated individuals who served their time, the only path to redemption and chance to pursue their purpose is through the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons. Through intimate and, at times, nerve-racking stories, follow these individuals as they show how life-altering a pardon and criminal justice reform can be when trying to build a life after prison.
Hell or High Water | Stories from the Stage
July 15 on TV | Available now online & on the PBS app
Stories of survival and determination. Ana describes her last night at home before leaving Cuba forever; Jackson’s son catches his first fish by any means necessary; and Julie’s international love affair gets tested during "cabin fever."
Keep It a Secret | Doc World
July 18 on TV, online, the PBS app & YouTube | Available now on PBS Passport
In 1972, every international sporting event in Ireland was cancelled...except for one. Surf pioneers transcended The Troubles' hostilities to host the '72 Eurosurf Championship. The film recounts the inspiring story of the dawn of Irish surfing, revealing how the sport gave young people hope while forever changing their lives, and how their community would leave a lasting impression upon Ireland.
Road Trip | Stories from the Stage
July 22 on TV | Available now online & on the PBS app
Road trip! No two words make us feel this adventurous and free. On the highway where anything can happen, take a ride on a journey that changed everything. Melissa Ferrick tells us about the night she opened for Bob Dylan; Suzanne Ketchum Adams drives home with a feisty ram in the backseat; and Akshobh Giridharadas camps in the middle of nowhere to discover the true sense of hospitality and humanity in the wilderness.
Wanderlust | Stories from the Stage
July 28 on TV | Available now online & on the PBS app
It’s nearly universal – to explore the world and in doing so, learning something about yourself along the way. Julian finds the meaning of home on a road trip to Ohio; Jeffrey delivers a perfect show to a deserted bar in Des Moines, Iowa; and Renata goes ghost hunting in Kentucky and discovers we all have a zany side.
Decolonizing Mental Health
Available online, on YouTube & on the PBS app
Like other healthcare industrial complexes, the mental health field operates around a centre defined by a whiteness of theory and practice. It’s a colonization that has rarely ever been questioned and the need to dismantle it has never been more urgent. Mental health practitioners serving racialized groups come together to shed light on the racism that undercuts their progressive practices.
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