From Spellbound to last year’s Pianoforte, documentaries about competitions and their competitors are naturally engaging. Following the buzz surrounding the Leonard Bernstein bio-pic Maestro, the informative Maestra is even more compelling. It profiles five fiercely tenacious female orchestra conductors in the early stages of their careers who participate in France’s “La Maestra.” Among the competitors are Melisse Brunet, a French woman teaching at the University of Iowa; American Tamara Dworetz who wants work and family and wonders how to combine the two; Greek Zoe Zeniodi, a single mother of two; Ukrainian Ustina Dubitsky and the young Pole, Anna Sulkowska-Mignon. On the human-interest side, the women relate their problems with balancing work, family and constant travel, and with sexism and stress. The competition judges include Marin Alsop, one of the most prominent female conductors working today, as well as Deborah Borda, former St. Paul Chamber Orchestra President and Managing Director. –Alissa Simon