Independent Lens
Season 13 Episode 21 - Circo
The Ponce family circus has been living and performing in rural Mexico for seven generations. Its history dates back to the late 19th century, when Genaro Ponce founded the Circo Ponce Hermanos. Today, the circus members are still carrying on their ancestors’ traditions. But their performing days may be numbered. Tino, the ringmaster, has long been driven by his dream to lead his parents’ circus to success. He urges everyone in the family, including his four young children, to help meet this goal. But Tino’s wife Ivonne is determined to make a change. Feeling exploited by her in-laws, she regrets that her children have spent their childhoods laboring in the circus. Can Tino choose between his circus dreams and a wife who wants a better life for their children? Filmed along the back roads of Mexico, Circo is an intimate portrait of a family trying to stay together despite mounting debt, dwindling audiences, and simmering conflict. With a marriage in trouble and a century-old tradition hanging in the balance, the Ponce family circus struggles to make a living off its artistry, sweat, and wit.
Episodes in Season 13
Wham! Bam! Islam!
60 min
Donor Unknown
60 min
Lives Worth Living
60 min
Deaf Jam
60 min
We Still Live Here -- as Nutayunean
60 min
The Woodmans
60 min
These Amazing Shadows
60 min
Have You Heard From Johannesburg: Road to Resistance
60 min
Have You Heard From Johannesburg: The New Generation
60 min
Have You Heard From Johannesburg: From Selma to Soweto
60 min
Have You Heard From Johannesburg: The Bottom Line
60 min
Have You Heard From Johannesburg: Free at Last
60 min
Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock
60 min
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
60 min
More Than A Month
60 min
You're Looking at Me Like I Live Here and I Don't
60 min
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
60 min
When the Drum Is Beating
60 min
Revenge of the Electric Car
60 min
Facing the Storm: Story of the American Bison
60 min
Circo
60 min
Summer Pasture
60 min
Precious Knowledge
60 min
Left by the Ship
60 min
Hell and Back Again
60 min
We Were Here
60 min
Strong!
60 min
