iwonder: August highlights

In August, doco streamer iwonder has a Music Matters month, including Aussie doco Metal Down Under and Eurovision bad boys Hatari.

Whitney
August 9th
Whitney Houston broke more music industry records than any other female singer in history. With over 200 million album sales worldwide, she was the only artist to chart seven consecutive U.S. No. 1 singles. Whitney is an intimate, unflinching portrait of Houston and her family that probes beyond familiar tabloid headlines and sheds new light on the spellbinding trajectory of Houston’s life. Using never-before-seen archival footage, exclusive demo recordings, rare performances, audio archives and original interviews with the people who knew her best, Oscar®-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald unravels the mystery behind “The Voice,” who thrilled millions even as she struggled to make peace with her own troubled past.

Metal Down Under
August 19th
Since the late 1970’s a thriving underground scene of extreme music has continued to evolve in Australia. Metal Down Under takes a look at the bands, people and events that have shaped this unique slice of Australian history. More than just the music, we meet the characters that make metal in Australia what it is today, from promoters, radio hosts and magazine editors, to band members and extreme fans. Featuring over 40 exclusive interviews, as well as rare archive footage and photographs from Metal for the Brain, Metal for Melbourne, The Big Day Out, SBS, music videos, live concerts and much more, this three-part series introduces viewers to a thriving, if sometimes overlooked, part of the Australian music scene.

A Song Called Hate
August 25th
Iceland’s Eurovision Song Contest entrants claim to be driven by a mission to end capitalism. With Tel Aviv playing host to the 2019 sugar-coated musical extravaganza broadcast to millions around the world, Hatari decides to take a stand, resolving to draw attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite opposition from the contest organisers and the threat of a fierce backlash from those who would prefer to see the surrounding tensions swept quietly under the rug. As we come to know the quietly spoken frontmen of the BDSM-themed hard metal band, ultimately A Song Called Hate asks, what is the role of artists and do they have a responsibility to engage in politics? With unique access to Hatari in Israel, as the band members wrestle with the responsibility they feel to provide a voice for the voiceless without making themselves targets of abuse, this documentary examines how these young artists cope, both on and off stage, and how they navigate criticism, when it comes from all sides.