Project Detail

The Pickup Game

Synopsis

An inside look at the emergence of the ‘pickup’ industry - a business where self-styled seduction coaches travel the world, charging a small fortune to teach men skills they claim will guarantee them success with women.
It can be a highly lucrative occupation, with many companies earning millions of dollars each year. But, it is also an industry rife with controversy and scandal; several teachers have been deported from countries for their contentious methodologies, and pickup businesses are often the subject of fierce public criticism.
Despite this, men the world over collectively spend hundreds of millions of dollars to attend seminars, download online courses and have one-on-one coaching sessions with instructors they feel can give them the dating life of their dreams. In the minds of students, many of these instructors become more than just teachers - they become idols.
From the glossy exterior, where courses are packaged as self-improvement, to the dark underbelly of sexual assault, pyramid scheme marketing and secret collusion, this documentary pulls back the curtain to reveal a world that is fascinating and horrific in equal measure.
Official Selection Hot Docs 2019 - Making Believe - World premiere

Details

Year: 2019
Type of project: Features
Running time: 96 min
Format: 4K
Director: Matthew O'Connor, Barnaby O'Connor
Producer: Mike Willoughby, James De Val, William Watson, Matthew O'Connor, Barnaby O'Connor
Co-Producer: Giselle Fryatt
Executive Producer: William Watson
Editor: Matthew O'Connor, Barnaby O'Connor
Director of Photography: Vince Knight, Claire Buxton, Tom Webster
Consulting Producer: Cassandra Roberts