TV PICKS OF THE WEEK By Lisa Jewell

Make a date or set your DVR for our top telly choices this week

Documentary – Child of Our Time

Tuesday 4 April, 9pm, BBC1

It seems like just yesterday Professor Robert Winston was introducing us to a group of infants that were going to be followed by camera crews as they grew up, to discover how much of our development is due to nature and how much due to nurture. But actually the BBC documentary Child of Our Time debuted back in 2000 and is back again for a two-part update on the now 16-year-old subjects.

They’re facing an ever changing world – families increasingly come in all shapes and sizes, we’re living in uncertain economic and political times and the modern pace of technology change has had a huge effect on teenagers. And to top it all off, they have the usual concerns that all teens have as they assert their independence and discover their identity. It’s a welcome return for the documentary which seemed to have been shelved by the BBC in recent years, after appearing regularly in the early part of the 2000s.

Film – American Hustle

Thursday 6 April, 11pm, Film4

Pacey and smart crime drama that boasts an A-list cast – Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Bradley Cooper. The 2013 film is directed by David O. Russell and follows Bale and Adams as two con artists who are forced into an FBI sting operation to catch out corrupt politicians. Lawrence puts in a stellar performance as Bale’s unpredictable other half and Cooper appears as the FBI agent who orchestrates the whole deal but finds himself more personally involved than he planned to be.

Set in the late 70s and with a very cool soundtrack, American Hustle definitely has shades of Goodfellas and Casino. Its mix of drama and black comedy also remind you of those two films but it’s definitely paying homage rather than being derivative.

Film – Rabbit-Proof Fence

Saturday 8 April, 9pm, Be3

Moving film that’s set during the 1930s in Australia, when government policy enforced the removal of mixed race children from Aboriginal communities with a view to assimilation in white culture.

The drama follows three young girls, Molly, Daisy and Gracie, who are taken from their settlement in Western Australia and sent to a re-education camp 1,500 miles away. A rabbit-proof fence, introduced to protect Western Australia’s farmlands from the scourge of rabbits, is the only link that the girls have to their home.

Over the course of nine weeks, the girls undertake an epic walk back to their community while trying to evade capture. The film is based on an inspiring true story and after its release in 2002, it brought the issue of the ‘Stolen Generations’ into the spotlight both in Australia and around the world.