WOMEN, WAR & PEACE Returns to PBS for a New Series

In a year when American women mobilized, ran for office, and were elected to Congress in unprecedented numbers (and are already impacting), the acclaimed documentary series Women, War & Peace (pbs.org/womenwarandpeace) returns Monday, March 25 and Tuesday, March 26, 9-11 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) with powerful stories of women's role in dramatic conflicts and peace settlements across the globe.

Series II demonstrates how some of the biggest international stories of recent memory are shaped by women. An all-female cast of directors present four never-before-told stories about the women who risked their lives for peace, changing history in the process: Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs (Eimhear O'Neill), The Trials of Spring (Gini Reticker), Naila and the Uprising (Julia Bacha), and A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers (Geeta Gandbhir and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy). Women, War & Peace II is executive produced by Abigail Disney and Gini Reticker for Fork Films and Stephen Segaller for THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. The original groundbreaking documentary series Women, War & Peace premiered on PBS in 2011.

"Women play a central role in ending conflicts and building peace, but their stories are often left untold," said Stephen Segaller, vice president of programming, WNET. "As women continue to gain political momentum in the U.S., with more women elected in this year's election than any point in U.S. history, Women, War & Peace II, shares four remarkable stories of brave women facing tremendous obstacles to pursue significant political change."

About Women, War & Peace II

If today's movements signal a future marked by gender equality, Women, War & Peace II looks to the past to see exactly-and how effectively-women can make that happen. The first two films look at two movements: one in Northern Ireland, the other in Palestine, in the late twentieth century.

Directed by Eimhear O'Neill, Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs follows the all-female political party in Northern Ireland, where years of violent strife compel a group of Catholic and Protestant women to demand a seat at the negotiating table for the Good Friday Agreement-a deal that stands to this day.

Emmy®-winning and Oscar® nominated filmmaker Gini Reticker then transports the series to Egypt in 2011, where the euphoria of the Arab Spring quickly runs into headwinds. In The Trials of Spring, the film follows the journeys of three Egyptian women as they fight for the goals of the popular movement: "bread, freedom and social justice" for all. But caught between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood, the women soon find themselves being pushed backwards.

Meanwhile, Peabody-winning director Julia Bacha takes us to 1980s Gaza, where, as shown in Naila and the Uprising, a non-violent women's movement formed the heart of the Palestinian struggle for freedom. The film revolves around the tragic and remarkable story of Naila Ayesh, a student organizer and activist who joins a secret network of women in a movement that brings together the disparate organizations protesting Israeli occupation.

The second two films of contemporary women activists and organizers chart the path forward for international peacebuilding and security. A Journey of a Thousand Miles, directed by two- time Primetime Emmy® winner Geeta Gandbhir and two-time Academy Award® winner and two-time Emmy® winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, follows one of the world's few all-female peacekeeping units. As 160 Bangladeshi women embark on a UN peacekeeping mission to Haiti following the devastating 2011 earthquake, they confront extreme poverty and devastated healthcare systems in their effort to build peace.

Seven years after the original debut of the award-winning series, Women, War & Peace II premieres at a critical political moment where women are calling for a seat at the table. In uncovering untold histories of those who have made that possible, the series reveals their transformative power and the long road ahead for contemporary peacebuilders around the world.

Women, War & Peace II - Four New Episodes / Documentaries
Discover how some of the biggest recent international events have been shaped by women in a showcase of four, female-directed films that tell never-before-told stories about women who risked their lives for peace, changing history in the process.

Wave Goodbye to Dinosaurs - Debuts Monday, March 25 at 9:00 p.m.
Discover the story of the Catholic and Protestant women who come together during Northern Ireland's bloody conflict to form an all-female political party and fight to ensure that human rights, equality and inclusion shape the historic Good Friday Agreement peace deal.

The Trials of Spring - Debuts Monday, March 25 at 10:00 p.m.
Follow three Egyptian women as they put their lives and bodies on the line fighting for justice and freedom. The film tells the story of Egypt's Arab Spring, the human rights abuses that came to define it and the women willing to risk everything.

Naila and the Uprising - Debuts Tuesday, March 26 at 9:00 p.m.
Discover the story of a courageous, non-violent women's movement that formed the heart of the Palestinian struggle for freedom during the 1987 uprising, known as the first Intifada. One woman must make a choice between love, family and freedom. Undaunted, she embraces all three.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers - Debuts Tuesday, March 26 at 10:00 p.m.
Embark on a risky year-long UN peacekeeping mission into earthquake-ravaged Haiti with an all-female Bangladeshi police unit. Leaving their families behind, these police officers shatter stereotypes as they RISE in the name of building peace.

Films will be available to stream the day after each premiere on pbs.org and PBS apps.