‘Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi’: 5 Netflix Documentaries to Watch Next
Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi is Netflix’s latest must-watch true-crime series. The four-episode documentary explores the case of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old girl from Vatican City who vanished mysteriously in 1983. It looks at various theories surrounding her disappearance, including the possible involvement of the Pope and the Catholic Church, international terrorists, and the Mafia.
If you were fascinated by Vatican Girl, add these five other Netflix documentaries to your watch list.
‘Don’t F**k With Cats’
Vatican Girl was directed by Mark Lewis. The filmmaker is also responsible for the 2019 Netflix docuseries Don’t F**k With Casts: Hunting an Internet Killer. It looks at how a group of amateur online investigators tracked down the man responsible for posting a series of horrifying animal abuse videos online. In the process, they found evidence linking the perpetrator to an even more disturbing crime. But be warned. Don’t F**k With Cats can be hard to watch. Lewis even told Variety that he made Vatican Girl because he “didn’t want to do something after that project that also felt so traumatizing.”
‘The Keepers’
The Catholic Church plays a big role in Vatican Girl. The series offers a look at what life is like inside the world’s tiniest country, which has a population of just a few hundred people. It also speculates that the church – and perhaps even Pope John Paul II himself – knew more about Orlandi’s disappearance than was publicly revealed.
For another look at the Catholic Church and its secrets, hit play on The Keepers. This seven-part series looks at the still-unsolved murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik in 1969. Cesnik was a teacher at a Catholic high school in Baltimore. Years after she was killed, a number of students came forward to say that they’d been sexually abused by a priest at the school and that they believed Sister Cathy had been murdered to cover up his crimes.
‘Procession’
Procession is another documentary about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. But it takes a different approach than you might expect. Rather than focusing on the crimes that were committed, this 2021 film (directed by Robert Greene), concentrates on healing. It follows six men who were abused by members of the clergy when they were young. Years later, they come together to work through their trauma through the use of drama therapy.
‘The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann’
For another look at a strange disappearance, stream the 2019 documentary The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann. The eight-episode series digs into the story of missing British toddler Madeleine McCann, who vanished from a hotel room in Portugal in 2007, and the subsequent media frenzy surrounding the case.
Journalists, police, and others involved in the investigation were interviewed for the series. But it’s worth noting that Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, did not participate and denounced the documentary. Madeleine’s disappearance is still officially unsolved and her body had never been found. However, authorities now believe that a German pedophile may be responsible for her murder, the BBC has reported.
‘Dig Deeper: The Disappearance of Birgit Meier’
Dig Deeper: The Disappearance of Birgit Meier looks at the disappearance of a 41-year-old German woman in 1989. The four-episode series explores what may have happened to Birgit, who was in the process of getting divorced from her husband when she vanished. The initial, cursory investigation turned up few leads, in part because the police may have been distracted by several high-profile murders in the area. The case languished for decades, even as Birgit’s brother (himself a police officer) continued to try to find out what happened to his sibling.
Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi is now streaming on Netflix.
How to get help: If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 for free and confidential support.
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