Preview from RCR Entertainment Reporter, Fiona Zaring, Follow her on IG at @FionaZaringWomen War & Peace is back with four new incredible stories. Each episode of Series II features fearless women whose ferocious efforts made an impact on the world. Their powerful stories have been brought to life by a talented group of female directors.
The first two films focus on two separate movements led by women towards the end of the twentieth century. Eimhear O’Neill directed Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs, a film that follows the all-female political party of Northern Ireland. The film explores the years of violence and repression that led women to fight for a seat at the table and make their voices heard during the Good Friday agreement.
The second film follows three Egyptian women in 2011. Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Gini Reticke captures their movement of “bread, freedom and social justice” in The Trials of Spring. Their goals were simple, their fight was not. As they find themselves caught between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood, the women’s progress is being pushed backward.
The next two documentaries highlight female activists who worked towards international peacebuilding and security. Peabody-winning director Julia Bacha takes us to 1980s Gaza in Naila and the Uprising. The film features a non-violent struggle for freedom in Palestine and brings Naila Ayesh’s remarkable story to life. As a student organizer and activist, she joins a secret network of women in a movement protesting Israeli occupation.
The final piece, A Journey of a Thousand Miles, was directed by two-time Primetime Emmy winner Geeta Gandbhir and two-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. The film follows an all-female peacekeeping unit of 160 Bangladeshi women. They embark on a UN peacekeeping mission to Haiti following the devastating 2011 earthquake. During their journey, they face extreme poverty and devastated healthcare systems in their effort to build peace.
Women, War & Peace II premieres seven years after the original debut of the award-winning series. The new documentaries will air Monday, March 25 and Tuesday, March 26, from 9-11 pm. Each piece will be available to stream the day after each premiere on pbs.org and the PBS apps.
WATCH the TRAILERS for all four Documentaries at the PBS website: www.pbs.org/women-war-and-peace
