10 Documentaries To Watch @ HOME in January

Happy New Year From the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival

With the holidays over, you might have some time to enjoy a documentary at home. So here is the Newburyport Documentary Film Fest’s second list of suggestions that can be found on TV networks as well as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO.

1. 20 FEET FROM STARDOM – NETFLIX

The winner of the 2014 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, 20 Feet from Stardom takes a look at the backup singers who support major artists but live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve no idea who they are or what lives they lead.The film was able to get interviews with Mick Jagger, Sheryl Crow and Bette Midler. The film follows the behind-the-scenes of Darlene Love, Judith Hill, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Táta Vega, and Jo Lawry, among many others. You might recognize Darlene who played Danny Glover’s wife in the Lethal Weapon series, and also became known for appearing each Christmas on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Lisa Fischer said of backup singing: “I reject the notion that the job you excel at is somehow not enough to aspire to, that there has to be something more. I love supporting other artists.” She added: “Some people will do anything to be famous. I just wanted to sing.”

‍2. BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY – NETFLIX

Here’s one we showed last year at the Firehouse and it was a highly appreciative crowd that walked out that evening. You probably know that Hedy Lamarr as a stunning actress from the ’30s to the ’50s. But she had quite the back personal story and you might not know she was an accomplished inventor, and that the principles of her work were incorporated into Bluetooth technology. Bombshell examines her youth, her rise to fame, her six marriages, landmark inventions and her death at the age of 85 in 2000. So if you missed our showing or want to watch it again, now you can.

…to read more and view trailers, visit the Newburyport Documentary Film Fest website here.