DocPlay Adds October Surprise

DocPlay will join Apple iTunes in streaming the Alec Gibney documentary about the US’ Covid-19 response Totally Under Control.

It streams from today on Apple iTunes and from Monday on DocPlay, one week after its widely acclaimed US release (where even the conservative Wall Street Journal praised the filmmakers for their “analysis and context, a world view of a world-shattering event, as well as the clarity of a timeline uninterrupted by commercials”).

The same day DocPlay will premiere #UNFIT, which it bills as an eye-opening analysis of Trump’s behaviour, psyche, condition and stability.

It takes a sociological look at the electorate that chose him, and examines the collective effect he’s having on our culture and institutions. Is Donald Trump “fit” for office? How can we tell, and how sure can we be? What determines a person’s fitness to serve as President? Who decides?

A similar take on the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi or ex-FBI boss Jim Comey is long overdue but I doubt we’ll see either coming soon from Hollywood.

“#Unfit feels like a rational argument, and a powerful one,” said trade paper The Wrap. “But if it’s liable to scare lots of people who already oppose Trump, it doesn’t feel as if it will change anybody’s opinion.”

Also new that day will be Slay the Dragon, which follows a 2017 grassroots movement led by a young woman without political experience to gather hundreds of thousands of signatures to put an anti-gerrymandering initiative on the ballot in Michigan.

Said IndieWire: “While it doesn’t exactly bring new information to the table, the movie provides a welcome breakdown of the dramatic impact that gerrymandering has across American society whenever election season comes around.”

Other October DocPlay highlights include the exclusives:

Feels Food Man (October 22), in which artist Matt Furie, creator of the controversial comic character Pepe the Frog, begins an uphill battle to reclaim his iconic cartoon image from those who turned it into a symbol of hate (it’s touted as “a Frankenstein-meets-Alice in Wonderland journey of an artist battling to regain control of his vandalised creation”).

Living With Volcanoes (October 26), which sheds light on their infinite diversity in 12 countries across six continents. Reads the blurb: “Volcanoes are not just destroyers of world, they also nurture life and human beings have always flocked to settle volcanoes in huge numbers to take advantage of their fertile soil, pleasant climate and natural heat sources.”