We get real about love, sex and beauty this October on SBS VICELAND

Plus, we unearth Dracula in time for Halloween. Dust off your cape. This is October on SBS VICELAND.

'The Big Sex Talk'. Source: CBC

Real lives (and the unreal life of Dracula) are what it’s all about on SBS VICELAND in October.

Blind Love

Mario and his date in ‘Blind Love’. Source: Lost In Vision Entertainment/ITVS

In a world where prospective lovers often judge each other instantly based on an image, how do people who are vision impaired find love? This honest and fun-loving American documentary follows Mario, Solomon, Joni and Simon on the quest for love. They don’t want pity, they want a real relationship in which they are seen and accepted for who they are. A welcome fresh perspective on contemporary dating, there’s plenty of good banter and heartfelt support between our four and their friends and family. Sometimes, you wonder whether they’re actually helping, though: “Once you start talking to the guy, it’s like, you know, rainbows.” Awkward!

Blind Love premieres at 9.55pm, Friday 7 October on SBS VICELAND. Catch up at SBS On Demand.

True Believers

'True Believers' looks into Universal Medicine. Source: VICE

Seekers of connection, healing and answers to life’s big questions can find themselves sucked in by self-styled prophets who promise eternal happiness. At the worst of times, they cannot escape the situations they find themselves in. This three-part series from VICE follows people who end up joining some of the world’s strangest organisations, and finding themselves in curious, cruel and deadly situations. The series includes a look at Universal Medicine, an organisation founded by an Australian, former tennis coach Serge Benhayon; a yoga empire hit by abuse allegations; and an LA rehab business that seems too good to be true.  

Three-part series True Believers premieres at 10.30pm on Saturday 8 October on SBS VICELAND. Episodes air weekly. All three parts are now streaming at SBS On Demand.

The Big Sex Talk

'The Big Sex Talk'. Source: CBC

Fronted by sex educator Shan Boodram, this six-part Canadian documentary series cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of sexual and gender diversity. With help from culture vultures, personal stories and experts such as sociology professor Tina Fetner from McMaster University, Boodram unpacks our notions of sexuality, spells out the new sex lingo and debunks myths surrounding sex. From sex robots to gender fluidity, polyamory to good old-fashioned monogamy and beyond, this original series puts a human and often humorous face on all things sex, kicking off with exploring why, if monogamy isn’t for everyone, we act as if it is?

Six-part series The Big Sex Talk premieres at 9.50pm, Friday 14 October on SBS VICELAND. Episodes air weekly. Catch up at SBS On Demand.

Tan France: Beauty And The Bleach

Queer Eye star Tan France is on a mission to take down the shocking beauty trend of bleaching one’s skin to lighten it, something France did himself as a child and which he now regrets. France explores the issues surrounding skin tone and colourism in society, with a special focus on the fashion, entertainment and beauty industries. Sharing his own experience, France also talks to experts such as psychotherapist Charlotte Armitage, celebrities including Kelly Rowland and people whose lives have been affected by this disturbing ‘beauty’ treatment.

Tan France: Beauty And The Bleach premieres at 9.40pm, Tuesday 18 October on SBS VICELAND. Catch up at SBS On Demand.

Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?

'Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?' Source: BBC / Flicker Productions

A new drug is being trialled that promises to make children with achondroplasia grow closer to ‘normal’ height. This is the form of dwarfism that five-time Paralympian gold medallist in swimming Britain’s Ellie Simmonds has. Here, she investigates all sides of the debate about this controversial drug, meeting families who are undergoing the trial, and others who are proud of their identity and question the aims of the drug.

Simmonds, who was only 13 when she won her first gold medals in Beijing 2008, draws on her own experience of growing up in a supportive environment and asks broader questions about the relationship between science and disability. The documentary premieres on Dwarfism Awareness Day.

Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism? premieres at 9.40pm, Tuesday 25 October on SBS VICELAND. Catch up at SBS On Demand.

Dracula Unearthed

'Dracula Unearthed'. Source: 3DD Entertainment

It’s been 100 years since the release of classic German film, Nosferatu by FW Murnau, an adaptation of Irish novelist Bram Stoker’s Dracula, published in 1987. To commemorate the centenary, this 90-minute special explores the continuing fascination of Count Dracula, a figure who resonates with audiences across the literary, art, mythological and historical worlds. From Vlad the Impaler to Hollywood horror films to the ‘look’ of Dracula, author and cinephile Ian Nathan presents the various iterations of Dracula over time, with contributions from horror aficionado Neil Norman, author Stephen Armstrong and journalist and respected Count Dracula expert, Kim Newman. A deliciously dark doco for Halloween night.

Dracula Unearthed airs at 8.30pm, Monday 31 October on SBS VICELAND and is also available at SBS On Demand. 

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