HBO Canada's May Programming Highlights Programming Highlights / The Movie Network & Movie Central Posted by RAD on Apr 27, 2009 - 04:16 PM The Alzeiimer's Project, China's Unnatural Disaster, Jim Jeffries: I Swear To God and more premiere this may. THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT (WORLD PREMIERE; PROGRAMMING EVENT) One of the most devastating forms of memory loss is Alzheimer’s disease, an irreversible and progressive brain disorder. While there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, this four-part documentary series shows there is now genuine reason to be optimistic about the future. Collectively titled The Alzheimer’s Project, this new multi-part series focuses on Alzheimer’s disease: its causes, symptoms, treatment and possible cures. The documentaries take a close look at the groundbreaking discoveries made by the country’s leading scientists, as well as the effects of this debilitating and fatal disease both on those with Alzheimer’s and on their families. THE MEMORY LOSS TAPES (WORLD PREMIERE; ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY) Premieres Sunday, May 10 at 9 p.m. (day-and-date with HBO in the U.S.) While there is hope for the future, millions of Americans are currently affected by the painful and deadly consequences of Alzheimer’s. This verité documentary profiles seven people living with the disease, each in an advancing state of dementia across the full spectrum of the progression of the disease. Among the emotionally gripping stories: a woman in a nursing home who thinks her mirrored reflection is her “best friend”; a father who no longer can remember his family, but can still steal the spotlight when performing in public with a local vocal group; a daughter who must build a fence around her farm to prevent her mother from wandering off; and the onetime host of a kids’ TV show. GRANDPA, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? WITH MARIA SHRIVER (WORLD PREMIERE; ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY) Premieres Monday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. (day-and-date with HBO in the U.S.) Based on the book “What’s Happening to Grandpa?” by Maria Shriver, this film tells five stories of children, ages 6-15, who are coping with grandfathers or grandmothers suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Maria Shriver provides commentary and delivers valuable “lessons” for the kids, urging them not to blame themselves for what their grandparents do or say. Maria’s own father, Sargent Shriver, suffers from the disease. MOMENTUM IN SCIENCE (WORLD PREMIERE; ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY) Part one airs Monday, May 11 at 8 p.m. and Part two airs Tuesday, May 12 at 8 p.m. (day-and-date with HBO in the U.S.) Amidst the stories of heartbreak and despair involving Alzheimer’s, there is real reason for optimism. This two-hour, two-part documentary takes viewers inside the laboratories and clinics of 25 leading scientists and physicians, who seek to discover what can be done to detect and diagnose Alzheimer’s better, delay the onset of memory loss, affect the changes occurring in diseased brains, and ultimately prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Two years in the making, the documentary travels coast to coast to explore this complex disease which has no single cause, but which develops from multiple factors that interact over many years. CAREGIVERS (WORLD PREMIERE; ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY) Tuesday, May 12 at 7 p.m. (day-and-date with HBO in the U.S.) There are currently 10 million Americans providing 8.4 billion hours of unpaid care to people with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. Seventy percent of people with Alzheimer’s live at home, cared for by family and friends. Alzheimer’s takes a great toll on the physical and emotional well-being not just of the patient, but of the caregiver as well. Caregivers is a collection of five portraits, each of which highlights the sacrifices and successes made by people experiencing their loved one’s gradual descent into dementia. CHINA’S UNNATURAL DISASTER (WORLD PREMIERE; ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY) Thursday, May 7 at 8 p.m. (day-and-date with HBO in the U.S.) On Monday, May 12, 2008, a catastrophic earthquake hit Sichuan Province in rural China. Nearly 70,000 people were killed, 10,000 of whom were children. In town after town, poorly constructed school buildings crumbled, wiping out classrooms filled with students, a majority of whom were their parents’ only child. Now, the grieving mothers and fathers of these young victims want justice from their government – but find their path blocked by incompetence, corruption and empty promises. Giving a vivid and astonishingly candid look at the human toll of last year’s devastating earthquake in central China, this 40-minute verité documentary reveals the devastation and disaster left in the wake of the massive earthquake. JIM JEFFRIES: I SWEAR TO GOD (WORLD PREMIERE; COMEDY SPECIAL) Saturday, May 16 at 10 p.m. (day-and-date with HBO in the U.S.) Jim Jeffries brings his subversive, one-of-a-kind brand of adults-only humor to HBO Canada in this all-new, 60-minute stand-up exclusive, taped before a live audience at the Skirball Center at New York University in New York City. ROMAN POLANSKI - WANTED AND DESIRED (WORLD PREMIERE; ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY) Thursday, May 28 at 8 p.m. (day-and-date with HBO in the U.S.) A look at the events surrounding film director Roman Polanski’s 1977 arrest on charges relating to sex with a minor and his subsequent departure from the United States. INTO THE STORM (WORLD PREMIERE; ORIGINAL FILM) Sunday, May 31 at 8 p.m. (day-and-date with HBO in the U.S.) Following the critical success of the Emmy® and Golden Globe winner The Gathering Storm, HBO Films revisits the life of the enigmatic world leader. For five years Winston Churchill played perhaps the single most important role in thwarting the Nazis during WWII, with his intrepid leadership and rhetoric inspiring millions of Britons and Americans to fight Hitler’s Germany to the bitter end. But what made Churchill a great wartime leader also made him vulnerable during times of peace, and created cracks in his marriage to his beloved wife Clemmie. HBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (WORLD PREMIERE; SPORTING EVENTS) New Matchup Premieres Live on Saturday, May 9 at 10 p.m. ET (8 p.m. MT) Undefeated IBF/IBO light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson and three-time world champion Antonio Tarver meet again in a rematch of their world title fight, Saturday, May 9, in The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. Featuring blow-by-blow commentary from the likes of Lennox Lewis, Bob Papa, Max Kellerman and Harold Lederman. Additional fight details to be announced. HBO BOXING AFTER DARK (WORLD PREMIERE; SPORTING EVENTS) New Matchup Premieres on Saturday, May 30 at 9:45 p.m. Showcasing an all-new matchup every month, HBO Boxing After Dark gives the most promising contenders their chance to battle it out in non-title, non-championship fight events. Fight details to be announced. HBO SEASON FINALES NO.1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY season finale airs Sunday, May 10 at 8 p.m. BRAVE NEW VOICES season finale airs Sunday, May 17 at 11 p.m. IN TREATMENT season finale airs Monday, May 25 at 10 p.m. ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING NOTES AND PREMIERES ON HBO CANADA · New episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher continue throughout May, Friday nights at 10 p.m. · Ellen Degeneres: Here and Now (Network Premiere; Comedy Special) – Saturday, May 2 at 10 p.m. · If These Walls Could Talk (Network Premiere; Original Film) – Friday, May 1 at 8 p.m. · If These Walls Could Talk 2 (Network Premiere; Original Film) – Friday, May 8 at 8 p.m. · The Late Shift (Network Premiere; Original Film) – Friday, May 29 at 8 p.m. This article is from CHANNEL CANADA   http://www.channelcanada.com/ The URL for this story is:   http://www.channelcanada.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2869