"Recovery Boys," "Mercury 13" and "Shirkers" to Premiere at the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival

Hollywood, Calif., March 20, 2018 - Netflix announces three documentary features premiering at the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (April 26-May 6, 2018 in Toronto, ON-Canada).

Netflix Original Documentary Features

Mercury 13 - International Premiere - (Netflix Launch: April 20, 2018)

Mercury 13 is a remarkable story of the women who were tested for spaceflight in 1961 before their dreams were dashed in being the first to make the trip beyond Earth. NASA's 'man in space' program, dubbed 'Project Mercury' began in 1958. The men chosen - all military test pilots - became known as The Mercury 7. But away from the glare of the media, behind firmly closed doors, female pilots were also screened. Thirteen of them passed and, in some cases, performed better than the men. They were called the Mercury 13 and had the 'right stuff' but were, unfortunately, the wrong gender. Underneath the obsession of the space race that gripped America, the women were aviation pioneers who emerged thirsty for a new frontier, but whose time would have to wait. The film tells the definitive story of thirteen truly remarkable women who reached for the stars but were ahead of their time. A Netflix original documentary directed by David Sington (The Fear of 13) and Heather Walsh.

Recovery Boys - World Premiere

In the heart of America's opioid epidemic, four men attempt to reinvent their lives and mend broken relationships after years of drug abuse. Recovery Boys, from Academy Award nominated director Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Heroin(e)), is an intimate look at the strength, brotherhood, and courage that it takes to overcome addiction and lays bare the internal conflict of recovery. In an effort to break the cycle of generational addiction and trauma, the young men let go of painful pasts as they live in the present, and build a new community in a farming-based rehab. After rehab, they experience life's trials and tribulations sober, but struggle to find their place and purpose in an often unforgiving society. In today's world, where shocking statistics about the opioid crisis make headlines daily, Recovery Boys gives a deeply personal look into the unseen lives of those working toward transformation.

Shirkers - Canadian Premiere

An inspired labor of love for zine-making teens Sandi Tan, Jasmine Ng and Sophie Siddique, Shirkers was a Singapore-made 1992 cult classic - or it would have been, had the 16mm footage not been stolen by their enigmatic American collaborator Georges Cardona, who disappeared. More than two decades later, Tan, now a novelist in L.A., returns to the country of her youth and to the memories of a man who both enabled and thwarted her dreams. Magically, too, she returns to the film itself, revived in a way she never could have imagined.

Shirkers is written, directed, produced and co-edited by Sandi Tan. The film was produced by Jessica Levin and Maya Rudolph, co-edited by Lucas Celler and Kimberley Hassett, photographed by Iris Ng, with an original score by Ishai Adar.