Two award winning documentaries will premiere on tv/cable this week. The Education Of Dee Dee Ricks debuts October 27, exclusively on HBO, in conjunction with national breast cancer awareness month; and Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s Miss Representation premieres on OWN on October 20th.
A self-made millionaire living on New York City’s Upper East Side, 39-year-old Dee Dee Ricks seemed to have it all – until she was diagnosed with aggressive stage II breast cancer. Insured and affluent, she could afford the best treatment money could buy, but was shocked to realize how difficult it is for uninsured women in the same situation, and determined to do something about it.
Marking National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the candid documentary The Education Of Dee Dee Ricks chronicles her transformation from successful businesswoman to determined advocate for poor breast-cancer patients and takes a no-holds-barred look at her own battle with the disease. This moving film by award-winning newswoman Perri Peltz debuts THURSDAY, OCT. 27 (8:30-9:45 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
Other HBO playdates: Oct. 27 (5:30 a.m.), and 30 (5:30 p.m.), and Nov. 2 (8:30 a.m.), 5 (10:45 a.m.), 8 (12:15 p.m.), 18 (4:00 p.m.) and 21 (10:00 p.m.)
In a recent interview with Diane Davis of Examiner.com, Jennifer Siebel Newsom revealed that her directorial debut Miss Representation that premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival is headed to OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.
JSN: We are gearing up Oprah Winfrey’s premiere on October 20th at 9pm Eastern/Pacific and and 8pm Central.
DD: Will there be anything surrounding the showing of the film?
JSN: Yes, there’s going to be a special with Rosie O’Donnell directly following the premiere of the film. That Gloria Steinem, myself, Gena Davis and others are going to be a part of. It will be an hour long special with Rosie O’Donnell.
Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.
Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, like Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem build momentum as Miss Representation accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective.