Women's History Month Programming 2022

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

March is Women's History Month. Commemorate and celebrate the vital role of women in American history with Austin PBS programming.

Reel South “First Lady of the Revolution” Henrietta Boggs, a reluctant Southern belle, finds her way to Central America in the 1940s, in search of freedom and adventure. Instead, she is swept up in political upheaval, when her new husband is elected president of Costa Rica. First Lady of the Revolution portrays a courageous woman who escaped the confines of a sheltered existence to help nurture a young democracy. Monday, March 14 at 9 p.m.

Annie Oakley: American Experience Meet the Ohio sharpshooter who won fame and fortune in a man's world for never missing a shot. Born into poverty, the self-taught Oakley picked up a gun at age 15 not to become a superstar, but to save her family from destitution. Tuesday, March 15 at 8 p.m.

Design In Mind: Bunny Williams - Not A House But A Home This half-hour program explores the life and work of renowned interior designer Bunny Williams. With her trademark warmth and geniality, Bunny leads viewers on a tour through her lovingly and painstakingly imagined Upper East Side apartment in New York City and her country home and gardens in Connecticut. As she moves through each space, she explains her architectural and design decisions, as well as offers insight into how these personal choices create a home. Friday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m.

Renaissance Woman Restored This film documents the restoration of a magnificent mural created by a 16th-century nun who is considered the first great woman artist of the Renaissance. As the half-hour documentary follows the restoration of the mural by a team of female art conservationists,experts speak to the scope of the art Plautilla Nelli created, the significance of her work, and the importance of highlighting women artists who have largely been ignored. Friday, March 18 at 9:30 p.m.

Bring Her Home This documentary follows three Indigenous women - an artist, an activist and a politician - as they work to vindicate and honor their relatives who are victims in the growing epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. As they face the lasting effects of historical trauma, each woman searches for healing while navigating the oppressive systems that brought about this very crisis. Monday, March 21 at 9 p.m.

Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision Of Maryam Mirzakhani Syam This documentary examines the life and mathematical work of Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian immigrant to the United States who became a superstar in her field. In 2014, prior to her untimely death at age 40, she became both the first woman and the first Iranian to be awarded the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics, often equated in stature with the Nobel Prize. Monday, March 21 at 10 p.m.

Frontline “Pelosi’s Power” Powerful and polarizing, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's life and legacy.Across three decades, how Pelosi has gained and wielded power and faced grave challenges to her leadership and to American democracy from Trump and his allies. Tuesday, March 22 at 8 p.m.

Citizens At Last This documentary film that celebrates the persistence of Texas suffragists to organize, demonstrate, and win the vote for women. The film explores the strategic role Texas women played in the national suffrage movement and exposes the pro-Jim Crow policies of the anti-suffragists who stood in their way. CITIZENS AT LAST shows the crucial role Texas women-white, Black, and Latina- played in the long struggle for equal voting rights. Tuesday, March 22 at 9:30 p.m.

Rosanne Cash at Macdowell Composer, writer, and recording star Rosanne Cash receives the 61st Edward MacDowell Medal. Program features a tour of the Peterborough artist enclave, insightful interviews and brief performances by Emmylou Harris, John Leventhal and Cash. Friday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m.

Great Performances “The Conductor” Follow Marin Alsop's journey to become the first female music director of a major symphony despite repeated rejection by the classical music industry. Features footage with her mentor Leonard Bernstein set to a soundtrack of her performances. Friday, March 25 at 8 p.m.

Marie Suize Pantalon: Itinerary of a Pioneer Marie Suize came from France in 1850 during the Gold Rush in California. In a cosmopolitan and essentially masculine universe, she became a successful gold miner and wine maker. She was arrested many times for wearing men's clothes. She decided to appropriate this as part of her identity and claims her nickname: Marie Pantalon. A woman who was extremely famous and much talked about in the newspapers, but completely fell into oblivion. She was forgotten until 2004, then Amador County celebrated its 150th anniversary, and decided to honor the memory of Marie Pantalon by naming her Sesquicentennial Woman of the Year. Historians, researcher and author, describe the outstanding and entertaining life of this daughter of both France and California. Friday, March 25 at 9:30 p.m.

Irma: My Life In Music This documentary about the “Soul Queen of New Orleans.” Although Irma Thomas didn’t experience the same kind of commercial success as her contemporaries, Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, her impact on R&B music is just as great. The program features archival concert and interview footage culled from decades of performances filmed at The New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival. Sunday, March 27 at 12:30 p.m.

Raise Hell:The Life and Times of Molly Ivins This film tells the story of media firebrand Molly Ivins, six feet of Texas trouble who took on the Good Old Boy corruption wherever she found it. Her razor sharp wit left both sides of the aisle laughing, and craving ink in her columns. She knew the Bill of Rights was in peril, and said "Polarizing people is a good way to win an election and a good way to wreck a country." Molly's words have proved prescient. Monday, March 28 at 9 p.m.

Independent Lens “Writing with Fire” Meet the women journalists of India's only all-female news network, who risk everything in a male-dominated world to uncover their country's political inequities. Monday, March 28 at 10:35 p.m. and Tuesday, March 29 at 10 p.m.