A great mix of documentaries comes to Neon throughout October, with their month-long Documentary Spotlight. Streaming on Neon throughout October are acclaimed features, series and one-off specials – including profiles of some Aotearoa legends and the return of one of the most shocking docu-series in recent memory. Steve Newall takes you through ten of the standouts from this month of non-fiction excellence.
I Am Greta
Streaming on Neon from October 1
With a young Aotearoa woman and climate activist making headlines after being on the receiving end of on-air bullying by a radio presenter last week, there’s perhaps no better doco to start the month with than I Am Greta. Telling the story of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, the film chronicles her efforts to wake the world from its death spiral slumber on climate change, and also introduces us more to who she is as a person – certainly a lot more than has been said by the sad likes of Mike Hosking (“the world’s most annoying kid”) and Duncan Garner (“too dramatic” to take seriously).
George Carlin’s American Dream
Streaming on Neon from October 1
A portrait of another kind, though no less someone who made uncomfortable truths known, a pioneering comedy legend’s life is told across two 90-minute episodes in George Carlin’s American Dream. Directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, and featuring plenty of comedy greats, the first part chronicles George Carlin’s stand-up of the 1960s and his pivot into edgier material, buoyed by comedy record sales in the 70s. Part two follows Carlin’s personal and professional challenges of the 1980s and, once again, the refinement of his act into legendarily insightful and critical comedy (and presumably references to his appearances in the Bill & Ted movies).
Beanie Mania
Streaming on Neon from October 1
A nation’s passion for cute stuffed toys becomes a collectible craze—and then an investment bubble—as seen in Beanie Mania. Beanie Babies (stuffed toys, mostly animals, filled with plastic pellets) quickly inspired collectors, encouraged by the manufacturers who stocked the toys in smaller, specialty shops rather than chain stores, embraced scarcity with limited runs, and retired designs from sale before the market was saturated. Combined with a growing resale value, this created a Beanie Babies phenomenon (allegedly making up 10% of eBay sales at one point).
We Met in Virtual Reality
Streaming on Neon from October 1
Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee this year, We Met in Virtual Reality doesn’t just look at the world of VR, but is the first feature-length doco filmed entirely in virtual reality. Investigating human interactions in the purely digital realm, the film uses romantic and community connections made in VR during the pandemic as a jumping-off point to explore technology, borders and imagination. With an uncynical and deeply personal approach, We Met in Virtual Reality promises to illuminate the most exciting and intimate aspects of a culture growing in size and emotional importance to its participants.
Endangered
Streaming on Neon from October 4
Pulitzer Prize winner Ronan Farrow is the executive producer of Endangered, overseeing a sobering look at the erosion of democracy and freedom of the press in the United States and globally. Teaming up with directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, Farrow’s feature-length doco depicts a year in the life of four journalists in Mexico, Brazil and the United States. Sadly, they’re all once-proudly democratic nations where opinions and security of the press is rapidly deteriorating, besieged by economic pressures, misinformation, and incitements against the press as “enemies of the people”.
The Black Ferns: Wāhine Toa
Streaming on Neon from October 7
The All Blacks are so well-documented to the point where further documentaries or personal profiles have become redundant. The silver lining about our under-appreciation for their female equivalents is that there’s still plenty to discover in The Black Ferns: Wāhine Toa. This two-part documentary follows this team of driven women athletes and captures how they balance their personal and professional lives with pursuing rugby at the highest level. Filmed during the Black Ferns’ preparation to defend the Rugby World Cup in 2022, a one-year shoot becomes two as a global pandemic turns the global event upside down and disrupts an already hectic time for Aotearoa’s female rugby stars.
Louis Theroux specials
Streaming on Neon from October 7
Over the course of his 30-year career, Louis Theroux has built up a solid fanbase for his idiosyncratic approach to documentary. Ever-happy to contrast his polite (perhaps uptight) demeanour with some of the more… unpredictable people out there, the contrast in personalities we see onscreen also proves Theroux’s extreme skill at disarming his interview subjects—seldom your everyday subjects, these are also seldom your traditional interviews either. This October, Neon follows Louis into some very Theroux territory in a five one-off specials: Behind Bars, Beware of the Tiger, Saville, The Most Hated Family in America and Twilight of the Porn Stars.
Mark Hunt: The Fight of His Life
Streaming on Neon from October 12
The autobiographical rags-to-riches story of a New Zealand MMA fighter who overcame staggering odds, Mark Hunt: The Fight of His Life explores the life story of a charismatic, magnificently gifted, fighter. Not just brave enough to take on all manner of opponents in the ring (or, in his youth, on the streets), the doco also charts Hunt’s battles with the phenomenally rich and powerful UFC itself, in a battle for fairness against drug cheats. Personally revealing, with Hunt matter-of-factly addressing his traumatic South Auckland upbringing, it’s thrilling as Hunt’s wild ride takes him from Karangahape Rd scraps to K1 tournaments and the pinnacle of world fighting—negotiating obstacles (some of his own making) along the way.
Hostages
Streaming on Neon from October 16
HBO documentary series Hostages examines the Iran hostage crisis, a shocking geopolitical crisis that continues to fuel mistrust between the United States and Iran to this day. The sight of the US Embassy in Tehran being stormed in 1979 is still mind-boggling, as is the 444 days the crisis would last. With over 60 Americans being taken hostage by Iranian student activists, Hostages goes inside the political deadlock that saw their fates in the balance, and helps to explain the lasting fallout from this event that challenged both diplomatic norms and notions of American might.
The Vow: Part 2
Streaming on Neon from October 19
In 2020 we were shocked by HBO’s The Vow, which exposed the grim realities of life inside the NXIVM cult and chronicled the vile crimes of its leader Keith Raniere. After bringing viewers up to speed with Raniere’s arrest on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges, the series returns with The Vow: Part 2. Set against the backdrop of Raniere’s trial, these six new episodes pick up from the first season’s cliffhanger image of NXIVM co-founder Nancy Salzman sitting down to be interviewed—wearing an ankle monitor bracelet. As well as spending time with Salzman, this season follows the trial of Raniere and other members of the NXIVM inner circle and the emotional journeys of both supporters and defectors.
Neon’s full Documentary Spotlight schedule:
October 1
Beanie Mania
Edge of the Earth
George Carlin’s American Dream
I Am Greta
We Met in Virtual Reality
October 4
October 5
On the Trail: Inside the 2020 Primaries
October 7
The Black Ferns: Wāhine Toa
Louis Theroux: Behind Bars
Louis Theroux: Beware of the Tiger
Louis Theroux: Saville
Louis Theroux: The Most Hated Family in America
Louis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars
October 8
October 10
Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart
October 12
Mark Hunt: The Fight of His Life
October 16
October 18
October 19
October 21
October 25
October 28
Persona: The Dark Truth Behind Personality Tests
Documentary Spotlight titles stream on Neon from October 1
