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From Princess Diana to Aretha Franklin: National Geographic celebrates women of impact

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Princess Diana. (Getty Images)
Princess Diana. (Getty Images)

National Geographic (DStv 181) celebrates women with their 2020 brand initiative, Women of Impact.

The channel's line-up will feature history-making and boundary-breaking women whose stories impact our world.

The campaign will kick off on International Women's Day, Sunday 8 March with the Oscar-nominated documentary, The Cave at 21:00.

The compelling feature film profiles Amani Ballour, a female doctor in Ghouta who operates a makeshift hospital nicknamed "the Cave" during the Syrian Civil War.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:

After that, each Sunday night until South African Women's Day (9 August 2020), will play host to more stories of remarkable, diverse, brave and heroic women, from Jane Goodall to Princess Diana.

It will end on a high note with the third instalment of National Geographic's Emmy award-winning anthology series, Genius, which will showcase the legendary Aretha Franklin starring Cynthia Erivo.

SEE THE FULL LINE-UP HERE:

Women of Impact (documentary)

Sunday 15 March at 21:00

It all starts with one question: How will you make the world a better place? From household names to rising stars, meet the women who are changing our world. The groundbreaking documentary Women of Impact features interviews with more than 40 boundary-breaking, history-making women including Sylvia Earle, Melinda Gates, Rae Wynn-Grant, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Jacinda Ardern and Beverly Joubert.

Katie's New Face

Sunday 22 March at 21:00

This short film is difficult to look at. Yet we are asking you to go on the remarkable journey of how a young woman received a face transplant because it reveals something profound about our humanity. Katie Stubblefield lost her face when she was 18. When she was 21, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio gave her a new one.

Diana: In Her Own Words

Sunday 29 March at 21:00

In 1991, inside London's Kensington Palace, Diana, Princess of Wales, participated in a series of secret interviews, recorded with her permission by a close friend on behalf of journalist Andrew Morton. Morton was writing a book about Diana's life to reveal what life was like for the most photographed woman in the world. The public was unaware that Diana, Princess of Wales', marriage to HRH Prince of Wales was at a crisis point. Now, National Geographic Documentary Films reveals Diana's thoughts and feelings at a very specific point in her life, presenting one side of a very complicated story, her side. Entirely in her voice, with no interviews, most of these unique recordings have never been broadcast before.

Tarini

Sunday 19 April at 21:00

Tarini is the story of 6 young women in one small sailboat out to conquer three oceans on their bid to circumnavigate the world. It's a trip of a lifetime. The girls will be out at sea for over 200 days before they return home and touch land just four times. That was the plan. But the oceans and the winds had other plans for the young naval women. The film spans their journey around the world, the challenges faced and celebrates the spirit of these six brave women.

Jane Goodall: The Hope

Sunday 26 March at 20:00

The next chapter of Dr Jane Goodall's life's work unfolds in Jane Goodall: The Hope. The two-hour documentary special will take viewers through chapters of Dr Goodall's journey in the 60 sixty years since her groundbreaking discoveries in Gombe researching wild chimpanzees, including her activism, creation of her non-profit organisation, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and Roots & Shoots youth program, along with her current efforts to inspire the next generation.

Viking Warrior Women

Sunday 31 May at 21:00

Viking Warrior Women explores new discoveries that challenge everything we thought we knew and showcases how cutting edge science and technology have revealed evidence that elite Viking warrior women lived and fought more than a thousand years ago.

Expedition Amelia

Sunday 7 June at 21:00

Expedition Amelia follows National Geographic explorer Bob Ballard's quest to solve one of the most enduring mysteries of all time—the loss of another famed explorer, Amelia Earhart. Along the way, it also tells the extraordinary and often overlooked story of Amelia herself—a record breaker and tireless advocate for women's rights, a hundred years ahead of her time.

Genius: Aretha

Premieres with a double bill of episodes 1 and 2 on Sunday 14 June at 20:00, after that one episode per week, on Sundays at 21:00 until Sunday 9 August.

Oscar nominee, Cynthia Erivo will star as Aretha Franklin in the next instalment of the Emmy-winning global anthology series Genius: Aretha. This upcoming season will be the first-ever, definitive and only authorised scripted limited series on the life of the universally acclaimed Queen of Soul. The series will explore Franklin's musical genius and incomparable career, as well as the immeasurable impact and lasting influence she has had on music and culture around the world.

Compiled by Leandra Engelbrecht

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