Eight honors Women’s History Month with new programs, beginning Mar. 16

Feb. 18, 2015

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“American Masters” features “Judy Garland: By Myself,” the story of the famous actress told in her own words. Photo courtesy of The John Fricke Collection.

PHOENIX – (Feb. 18, 2015) Eight, Arizona PBS will honor Women’s History Month with a new lineup of programming highlighting influential women in history, beginning March 16 at 11 p.m.

Eight’s tribute will feature stories of women and girls who have faced hardships and overcome challenges in order to better their lives and the lives of others in societies all over the world.

"We are pleased to broadcast our new programs commemorating Women’s History Month,” says Nancy Southgate, associate general manager of content for Eight. “Each program gives an insight into the brave and complex stories of women who have shaped cultures everywhere.”

Eight’s Women’s History Month celebration will showcase the remarkable stories of women from all walks of life, including a Nobel Prize winner, an Air Service Pilot and breast cancer patients. Eight will also air a special episode of “American Masters,” which shares the story of Judy Garland in her own voice and an episode of “Independent Lens,” which explores the legacy of Wonder Woman.

The full Women’s History Month lineup includes:

In Line for Anne Frank
Monday, March 16, at 9:00 p.m. – NEW
Day in, day out, year after year, a long line can be seen in front of the Anne Frank House located on the Prinsengracht canal in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Visitors are drawn to this site to visit the Anne Frank Museum, and to witness the Achterhuis – the hiding place of the most famous victim of the Second World War, Anne Frank. “In Line for Anne Frank” shares extraordinary stories from the people of all nationalities standing in that line.

Independent Lens – “Wonder Women! The Untold Stories of American Superheroines”
Monday, March 16, at 11:00 p.m.
This program traces the evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman. From the birth of the comic book superheroine in the 1940s to the blockbusters of today, this film looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society's anxieties about women's liberation.

American Masters – “Judy Garland: By Myself”
Friday, March 20, at 8:00 p.m.
Judy Garland had one of the most photographed faces ever to come out of Hollywood – it is stamped as a virtual imprint on our imaginations, a celluloid image frozen in time. She also had one of the most frequently recorded voices of the last century. She was magic, almost mythical. She is as iconic as she is misunderstood. There were her problems, to be sure, but the proof is in the performances, from “The Wizard of Oz” to the Palladium, from the Oscars to the Grammies. With singular entree to the MGM library, including vaulted screen tests and rehearsal footage, the film is wrapped in Judy's voice, actually telling her story in her own words. So many outsiders have tried to tell this story and so many friends and family have weighed in – now Judy gets center stage, all to herself. This is her ultimate comeback.

The Genius of Marie Curie
Monday, March 23, at 9:00 p.m. – NEW
The first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize, Marie Curie was an extraordinary woman whose story is as remarkable in the modern day as it was last century. This documentary takes a fresh look at one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century, and discovers how she achieved both her professional accomplishments and raised a family – all in the face of prejudice, sexism and her own ill health. The film also hears from the scientists who have carried on Marie's work to the present day, uncovering the true extent of her legacy to science and medicine. This is a riveting portrait of a tenacious mother and scientist, who opened the door on a whole new realm of physics, which she discovered and named: radioactivity.

The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound
Tuesday, March 24, at 11:00 p.m.
America's tales about taming the Wild West rarely include women. But in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, more than 100,000 pioneering young women left home to work as waitresses in restaurants located on train platforms along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. “The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound” explores the lives, experiences and contributions of the women who worked for the Fred Harvey restaurant empire. There were five Harvey Houses in Arizona: Ash Fork, Winslow, Seligman, Grand Canyon and Williams.

Wings for Maggie Ray
Friday, March 27 at 11:00 p.m. “Wings for Maggie Ray” pays tribute to the remarkable life and legacy of Margaret "Maggie" Ringenberg (1921-2008), a U.S. Army Air Force WASP (Women's Air Service Pilot) and renowned long-distance aviation racer. Re-enactments, archival photos and film, and insightful interviews from those closest to her shed light on Maggie's fearlessness, confidence, competitive nature, drive and determination. The program covers the Indiana native's numerous aviation adventures during and after World War II, including ferrying personnel and supplies, test-flying new planes, and serving as the lead pilot in around-the-world and London-to-Sydney races.

What Love Is – The Duke Pathfinders 50 – NEW
Monday, March 30, at 11:00 p.m.
Fifty women from North Carolina with incurable breast cancer heroically endure an experimental medical protocol to prove that there is a better way of life – and death – for cancer patients and their families everywhere. Narrated by NPR's Scott Simon and filmed in North Carolina, Colorado and Rome.

Media Contact: Colleen O’Donnell Pierce
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(602) 478-3867 (cell)

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