Abortion before 1975, a Sharon Stone special, the return of Severance… Our screen selection of the week

“ Just listen to the ladies. » These famous words were said on November 26, 1974 at the roost by Simon Veil when he defended his law on the voluntary termination of pregnancy. Seven weeks later, on January 17, 1975, the promulgation of this text put an end to centuries of drama. These words handed down to posterity were chosen by the National Audiovisual Institute (INA) to name its sprawling project of collecting testimonies of women who had clandestine abortions in France after the war.

“We did it as part of our heritage interview collection, whose aim is to collect the perishable words before it’s too late, explains Isabelle Foucrier, producer at the INA and coordinator of the project. The story of clandestine abortion through the prism of activist action has already been widely told. But we had never documented the concrete experiences of these women who had to face the fear of dying, the pain and the shame.“A more necessary approach that, everywhere in the world, from Poland to the United States, this right today tends to be questioned.

Under the supervision of the historian Bibia Pavard, specialist in the subject, at the end of 2023 a call to witnesses was launched on social networks and in the regional daily press. With a wave of 400 responses as a result. “Where it was more difficult was for the overseas territories, where the silence is deafening. » In the end, 79 interviews of about an hour and a half were done at home. “It was important to do it at home, because we didn’t do the abortion like when we lived in a farm in the countryside or in the heart of the Latin Quarter. . »

Fifteen of these testimonies are compiled in a documentary directed by Sonia Gonzalez – with the voice of Ana Girardot – broadcast this Tuesday at 9:05 p.m. on France 5. We can discover the story of Denise (91 years old), Marie-France (. 78 years), Huguette (84 years), Colette (85 years) and also Maguy (80 years), as well as that of children, husbands and caregivers. But also of a certain Christiane Taubirawhich reveals for the first time that she had undergone a clandestine abortion (” We were convinced that I would not survive» ,she says).

A poignant documentary not to be missed, before discovering in bookstores on January 22 a work written by Léa Veinstein ( Just listen to the ladies – Flammarion editions). On the same day, a podcast produced by Julie Auzou will be published, intertwining these testimonies with fiction. Short formats will also be offered on INA’s social networks until mid-February.

With a bit of footwork, he was reluctantly branded a “sex symbol”. It’s an understatement to say that, for Sharon Stone, there was a before and an after. Basic instinct which caused panic on the Croisette in the spring of 1992 during its presentation. Arte honors the 66-year-old American actress this Sunday with a special evening.

On the menu: the broadcast of this cult film by Paul Verhoeven where she alongside Michael Douglas, followed by a brilliant 52-minute documentary that looks back on her extraordinary trajectory, that of a free actress with a strong character who had to fight to establish himself in the patriarchal universe of Hollywood and get rid of this stereotypical image that has stuck to them so much. “My greatest achievement is to have survived, she slipsIt is no small feat to survive in such an environment. »

We discover her story, similar to that of millions of other women“but with a job that offers more visibility”, she explains. Directed by Nathalie Labarthe and narrated by Julie GayetThis brilliant portrait tells the story of how this feminism – deeply rooted in her – guided many of her choices. From the depths of her native Pennsylvania to the studies of Los Angeles, we have the measure of the struggle she had to fight to establish herself in this world of men.

This is one of the best series offered by the Apple brand on its streaming platform. After more than two years of waiting, due to the Hollywood writers’ strike, season 2 ofSeveritywill be available from Friday.

Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller, this science fiction thriller offers a fascinating reflection on alienation in the workplace. With Mark Scout at the heart of the plot(photo),a head of a team whose employees have undergone a surgical operation that separates in their head the memories related to their professional life and their private life. The first season was deservedly nominated 14 times for Emmy Awards. Despite some minor plot fluctuations, the second delights us by exploring the perverse consequences of this dissociation of the brain.