PBS' Independent Lens to Present Three-Part Series A PATH APPEARS, Beg. 1/26

A Path Appears, from the creative team behind the groundbreaking series Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, follows author/reporters Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn and celebrity activists Malin Akerman, Mia Farrow, Ronan Farrow, Jennifer Garner, Regina Hall, Ashley Judd, Blake Lively, Eva Longoria, and Alfre Woodard to Colombia, Haiti, Kenya, and throughout the United States as they explore the roots of gender inequality, the devastating impact of poverty and the ripple effects that follow -- including sex trafficking, teen pregnancy, gender-based violence, and child slavery. In their travels, they meet with inspiring activists who are creating effective solutions to gender-based oppression, transforming lives and providing a roadmap for sustainable future change.

"These are stories of a new generation of leaders that offer new inspiration to bring about change," says WuDunn. "We want people to understand that there are solutions. There are successes."

Based on the most recent book by Kristof and WuDunn entitled A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity, the three-part series premieres as a special presentation of INDEPENDENT LENS on three consecutive Monday nights, January 26, February 2, and February 9, 2015 at 10:00 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS.

Watch a preview below:

Produced by Show of Force in association with ITVS, A Path Appears is Executive Produced by Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre, Jamie Gordon, and Mira Chang, directed by Chermayeff and is part of the Women and Girls Lead initiative. Joshua Bennett is the series producer. Major funding for A Path Appears has been provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), ITVS, the Ikea Foundation, Intel, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the NoVo Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Hilton Worldwide, the Nduna Foundation, the Artemis Rising Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Deerbrook Charitable Trust, Ina Brown Bond, Nina De Clercq, Embrey Family Foundation, the Akasha Project, and Revlon.

About Independent Lens

INDEPENDENT LENS is an Emmy® Award-winning weekly series airing on PBS Monday nights at10:00 p.m. The acclaimed series features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by Independent Television Service, the series is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding from PBS and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. For more visit pbs.org/independentlens. Join the conversation: facebook.com/independentlens and on Twitter @IndependentLens.

About Women and Girls Lead

Women and Girls Lead is spearheaded by the Independent Television Service, an organization founded by Congress in 1988 and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). CPB is a private corporation funded by the American people. Women and Girls Lead also receives generous support from EILEEN FISHER, INC. For more visit itvs.org and www.womenandgirlslead.org.