POV 28

Out in the Night (2015)

Season 28 opens with "Out in the Night," about four African-American lesbian friends who became embroiled in a melee with a man who had verbally and physically attacked them in 2006 NYC. He was stabbed; and they were eventually convicted of gang assault. The case spurred sensationalized press coverage, with headlines labeling them a "Gang of Killer Lesbians." Included: remarks from the women, their families and one of the arresting officers; and surveillance-camera footage of the confrontation.

The Overnighters (2015)

"The Overnighters," about the North Dakota oil boom, details the goings-on at a Williston church whose pastor turned it into a makeshift dorm for folks unable to find housing. The emigres moved to the region in hopes of finding work. Some have, some haven't, but a housing shortage means they have nowhere to live. Not all in the community welcome the arrangement, however. Also: the Immigrant Nation short "The Caretaker"; and StoryCorps shorts "A More Perfect Union" and "The Last Viewing."

Tough Love (2015)

A single dad in Seattle and a mother of two in NYC navigate the child welfare system in hopes of regaining custody of their children, who were removed from their care due to neglect. Patrick lost his daughter after he alerted CPS about her meth-addicted mother; he was addicted, too, but is now recovering. Hannah lost her kids after leaving them with her mom for nights on end. She's since married and is again pregnant; and her husband supports her in her quest to put her family back together.

Web Junkie (2015)

A look at Internet addiction in China via the experiences of teens at Daxing Boot Camp in Beijing, one of some 400 rehabilitation centers created by the government to treat the disorder. Patients, who are kept under constant surveillance, take part in rigorous exercise, group therapy, brain scans and classroom instruction. "It is an abyss swallowing my son," says one mother of why she sought help for her son. It's also not cheap. Parents, many at their wits' end, often borrow money to pay.

Return to Homs (2015)

The transformation of a one-time goalie for the Syrian national soccer team from peaceful protester to armed opponent of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime is chronicled. In 2011, when the documentary begins, 19-year-old Abdul Basset Saroot—once voted the second best goalie in Asia—is singing protest songs to like-minded people in Homs. The regime responds to the protests, however, with artillery fire, tanks, jets and snipers. Assad and his friends see no option but one: take up arms.