MEME Me
2019 · 7m · New Zealand
Directed by Stjohn Milgrew
Genres: biography, documentary
Tones: contemplative, melancholic
Levi Hawken, the man behind the 'Nek Minnit' meme, confronts what viral fame did to his life.
Picked by Zoe
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Everyone's waiting for the ironic takedown of meme culture, but Milgrew refuses to perform that easy kill—instead he lets Levi's quiet devastation speak, which is actually the subversive move.
A formally restrained portrait that understands its place in the documentary continuum: the personal-reckoning-with-internet-fame film, executed with genuine compositional patience rather than aesthetic flourish.
The whole film hinges on Milgrew's decision to hold on Levi's face in silence rather than cut away or score over it—that single refusal to look away is what transforms a viral-fame anecdote into something genuinely tragic.