Six Riveting Netflix Documentaries For A Binging Session This Sunday Evening

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It’s been a long auld week and you’re in need of a well-deserved rest. Why not treat yourself to a little Netflix documentary while you’re at it?

Or a lot of documentaries. I mean they’re crammed with facts so you’re technically spending your weekend educating yourself.

Just go with us on this.

1. 13th

This doc derives its name from the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.”

Since the implementation of this glaring loophole it has been abused by the US legal system, resulting in America containing 25% of the world’s prison population in order to meet its demand for penal labour.

13th provides an insightful, and sickening, view of a broken legal system.

2. Sustainable

A look at another broken American system and this time it’s food.

Through water depletion, climate change and pesticide use, the production of our very nourishment is terrifyingly unsustainable.

But it doesn’t have to be. This documentary gives a voice to those people who want to radically change things for the better.

3. Shadow Of Truth

Perhaps best described as an Israeli version of Making A Murderer.

In December 2006, Ukrainian immigrant Roman Zadorov admitted to the murder of a 13-year-old school girl, whose body he left in a locked bathroom stall.

But not everyone is convinced that Roman actually committed the heinous crime. This is a murder mystery with some very disturbing implications.

4. Into The Inferno

If you’re one for a good nature documentary then Into The Inferno will be your cup of tea.

Directed and narrated by Werner Herzog, the veteran director behind Grizzly Man and Fitzcarraldo, this feature explores the beautiful and destructive power of volcanoes and how they have shaped humanity.

The filmmaker was joined by volcanologist and co-director Clive Oppenheimer on a journey to active volcanoes in Indonesia, Iceland, North Korea and Ethiopia — and the result is positively mesmerising.

5. The White Helmets

Syria is being torn apart by the horrors of war, but in Aleppo ordinary men are doing extraordinary things.

The White Helmets risk their lives to search the wreckage of buildings even as bombs continue to drop around them.

This is what real heroism looks like.

6. What Happened, Miss Simone?

You’ll know her and that distinctive voice from songs like ‘Feeling Good’, but what do you know of her life?

Using never-before-heard recordings, rare archival footage and her best-known songs, this documentary examines the life and genius of one of the greatest singers of all time.