Prove themselves
International Women’s Day is always a welcome occasion for the broadcast of documentaries that provide insight into the status of women in various fields of activity where there is still much to do to achieve parity and equality of genres. So the documentary Symphonic women (Artv, Tuesday, 8 p.m.), whose colleague Christophe Huss slipped a word into our pages last week, paints the portrait of Canadian female conductors who are making their place in this still very masculine world.
female captainsby Phil Comeau (Acadian wave), marries this same model by following the approach of Marilyn Gauvin, a thirty-year-old who wishes to take over from her father at the helm of his fishing boat in the Acadian peninsula and who questions the place of women in this field of activity that has always been the prerogative of men, even when the boats belonged to women. The apprentice captain, who generously confides in her hopes and fears in the face of this daunting challenge, meets a handful of pioneers who have been on deck in the Atlantic region for twenty years, including the very first captain of the surroundings, who suffered intimidation and even sabotage when she took the helm of her lobster boat, and the very first and only all-female crew. These interviews give the impression that the “glass ceiling” is far from being smashed in this fragile sector of the economy, which is nevertheless vital for the Maritimes, and that there is still a lot to be done to change mentalities. .
female captains
ICI Télé, Saturday March 5, 10:30 p.m., and on Tou.tv
The documentary science is bad also opts for the established formula of portraits to offer a current panorama of the place of women in scientific careers in France, but which can be applied to the situation of most Western countries. The film presents the experience of four young women, a mechanical engineer, a biologist, a computer scientist and a student at the École Polytechnique, and highlights the historical and sociological reasons for the lack of women in almost all fields of scientific study (except in medicine and biology). It details, with the help of enlightening examples, the difficulties they face, both in the job market and in university establishments, to find their place and grow professionally. The conclusion, which presents solutions implemented in France and elsewhere in Europe to turn the tide and promote the presence of women in science, offers at least some reasons for hope.
science is bad
Télé-Québec, Monday, March 7, 8 p.m.
Unlikely murderer
This miniseries could be just another fiction true crime like the others. However, it stands out from the rest because it relates the details of a crime for which the accused has not yet been convicted… and it shines a Hollywood star who is making her first foray into a “traditional” television production. .
Renée Zellweger plays the title Pam, Pamela Hupp, a middle-aged Missouri suburbanite who was convicted in 2016 of the murder of Louis Gumpenberger but managed to thwart law enforcement over the murder of a friend. Betsy Faria, in 2013, favoring the indictment of her husband. After two trials, the husband was cleared and first-degree murder charges were filed against Hupp last summer. The thriller inspired by reports and a podcast of the show Dateline devoted to this case leaves no doubt about the guilt of this woman who appears to be well in all respects, and skilfully depicts the stratagems deployed by the murderess to clear herself and divert the police investigation. The miniseries, which does credit to the genre with its quirky structure and often scathing tone, is worth watching for Zellweger’s dazzling and inspired performance, which transcends the paraphernalia of prosthetics and make-up, and composes a deliciously loathsome devilish heroine.
The Thing About Pam
NBC and Global, starting March 8, 10 p.m.