đŸ“ș Documentaries

I watched this documentary at a Latin American conference a few months ago. Yesterday marked two years since Honduran environmental defender Berta Caceres was assassinated in her own home. There have been new arrests recently.

Oscar nominated and free to watch on Netflix. It starts out as, the director would admit a pretty lame scenario. The presenter takes steroids to prove he can beat other cyclists. It takes a major turn 
 I’ll not spoil it, but it’s more gripping and emotional than many Hollywood films. And it’s real!

I see Deakins finally got his Oscar SB. :lou_sunglasses:

1 Like

It really was a joke he hadn’t been given any award before.

A very interesting documentary on BBC4 this coming week “The Ruth Ellis Files-A Very British Crime Story” (9 pm on Tues/Wed/Thur)

Hopefully this will present the true story of a woman who was poorly served by the British Judiciary at the time and by the British media ever since. A friend of mine (Monica Weller) was an advisor in the making of the documentary as she ghost wrote Ruth Ellis’s sister’s story “Ruth Ellis - My Sister’s Secret Life” back in 2005.

A lot of unanswered questions presented
an “Establisment” cover-up
did they have secrets to hide
would Ellis’s survival cause them problems
could a frail, abused and troubled woman weild a heavy military revolver to such an expert and deadly effect after just one practice session just days before the event?

A hard watch “Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation” on BBC. 2 episodes out of 3 watched. Last night was about the murder and his mother’s pursuit of getting justice. Tonight’s about The System ending with the Mcpherson report.

I don’t remember much about the murder in the news at the time. I’d have been 17 and being a young idiot. We also didn’t have the rolling news that we do now so it wouldn’t have been as full on as now when a young person is stabbed. The assumptions made about Stephen and his friend. I wonder how far we have come since then.

Tonight they showed videos of the accussed being racist and playing with knives. There is a retired copper who I haven’t warmed too. See if you can work out which one.

I do remember the Mcpherson report coming out 6 years later in 1999 and attending training via my union about it.

Quite interesting timing given the Windrush issues currently.

You’d like to think it just couldn’t happen now. The Met police were (they may still be) pretty corrupt and frankly racist.

1 Like

The one particular cop didn’t see the institutional racism. Racismto him seemed to be an overt thing, a comment or action and not a group of people making assumptions about people who are not like them.

If Stephen Lawrence had been a white middle class teenager stabbed to death by a gang of black kids. the police may have treated it differently. It’s no different in Bristol 


Just watched both episodes of imagine winter 2017/18 Habaneros: You say you want a Revolution? on BB4 iplayer.

Highly recommend it for a snapshot of Cuban history from about 1850 onwards with the revolution and struggles and some of the achievements since. I spent 3 months in Havana in 2007 which was an experience and I wasn’t completely in a tourist bubble all the time. The friends I made have all left (though one has returned having made money and is now a fairly well known singer there) looking for a better life.

I watched a documentary last night on the schoolgirls from Nigeria that were kidnapped by Boko Haram. It was incredibly moving. It made me smile as families were reunited and get teary eyed to hear such tragic stories. It’s a fucked up world. You can catch it on iPlayer

Not sure if this best fits into shows or docs, but I’ll pop it here.

Been binging on Hate Thy Neighbour recently. It’s a good watch. Bit of a Louis Theroux vibe. Seriously uncomfortable at times, hilarious at others, but almost always interesting. Worth checking out.

Finished watching 4 part documentary called Evil Genius on Netflix. The first episode had me mouth open throughout. The next three are good. It’s an interesting crime story that I shan’t spoil but would recommend.

1 Like

That’s been on my to watch list for a little while, I’ll try and fit it in between the footy tomorrow. Did you ever watch ‘making a murderer’ on netflix?

I did watch that,gav. It was great/shocking/distressing.

Just finished watching this last night. Agree with all of your post.

1 Like

I’m now watching ‘Staircase’ on Netflix, another true crime documentary in a similar tone as ‘Making a murderer’. It’s a bit more slow paced and you get to see more of the trial as it’s 10 x 45min episodes. It’s quite graphic in parts, but if you can cope with that it’s worth a few hours of your time.

2 Likes

It’s alright for you Gavs but I’ve given 60+ pints of blood and still never seen a drop come out. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Well worth a watch, even if you’re not into the subject matter. It’s really about the lengths someone will go to when their only claim to fame is at threat.

Billy Mitchell (no, not that one), is a total dick. Great real life sequel.

1 Like

Highlights were ‘‘DAD
 WIPE MY BUTT!’’ and the ending :lou_lol: