By Jennifer McShane
29th Mar 2020
29th Mar 2020
Netflix will have even more eyes on it as we continue to do all we can to stop the spread of Covid-19 on Irish shores, and happily, their original documentary content next month sounds as watchable as ever. Here are the picks we’re most looking forward to streaming
How to Fix a Drug Scandal
This four-part true crime series tells the tale of Sonja Farak – who in 2013 was revealed to have been using the drugs that she was supposed to be testing. Addicted to drugs including liquid meth, Farak would falsify the results of the drugs she was supposed to be testing It later emerged that Annie Dookhan, another chemist at a nearby drug lab, had also been faking the results of tests she’d been employed to make. The story of two drug lab chemists’ shocking crimes cripple a state’s judicial system and blur the lines of justice for lawyers, officials and thousands of inmates – and it makes for a gripping watch
Streaming April 1st
The Innocence Files
The Innocence Files shines a light on the untold personal stories behind eight cases of wrongful conviction that the nonprofit organization the Innocence Project and organizations within the Innocence Network have uncovered and worked tirelessly to overturn. The nine-episode series is composed of three compelling parts – The Evidence, The Witness and The Prosecution. These stories expose difficult truths about the state of America’s deeply flawed criminal justice system while showing when the innocent are convicted, it is not just one life that is irreparably damaged forever: families, victims of crime and trust in the system are also broken in the process.
Streaming April 15th
A Secret Love
A Secret Love tells an incredible love story between Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel, whose relationship spans nearly seven decades. Terry played in the women’s professional baseball league, inspiring the hit movie A League of Their Own. But the film did not tell the real-life story of the women who remained closeted for most of their lives. This documentary follows Terry and Pat back to when they met for the first time, through their professional lives in Chicago, coming out to their conservative families and grappling with whether or not to get married.
Streaming April 29th
Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story
Made famous initially by the help a certain Kim Kardashian West gave to her legal case, the extraordinary true story of Cyntoia Brown is a must-watch. Brown was aged just 16 when she was convicted of the murder and robbery of Johnny Michael Allen, despite her insistence that she killed Allen after fearing for her life in a sexual encounter. She was then sentenced to life imprisonment. However, her story takes another turn after interest was renewed in her case in 2017, thanks in part to Kardashian West’s social media platform.
Streaming April 29th
Circle of Books
The documentary is set in the gay porn shop which for 35 years, has served as an epicentre for LGBT life and culture in Los Angeles. Unbeknownst to many in the community, the store is cultivated and cared for by its owners, Karen and Barry Mason — a straight couple with three children. Their story unfolds through the lens of their daughter, filmmaker and artist Rachel and spotlights the contradictions of growing up in the home of Karen and Barry Mason where sex was never discussed, yet their business became a mini adult empire.
Streaming April 24th
Main photograph: Netflix
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