Plot Synopsis

Directed by Yon Motskin, ENCOUNTERS is a four-part documentary that travels the globe to explore four extraordinary true stories of encounters with otherworldly phenomena. Each episode tells a single story: strange lights in the sky over small-town Texas; submersible space crafts haunting a coastal Welsh village; an alien encounter with schoolchildren in Zimbabwe; non-human intelligence reportedly interfering with a nuclear power plant in Japan. As told from the perspective of firsthand experiencers -- in the places where the sightings occurred -- and guided by cutting-edge scientists and military personnel, the series goes beyond the science to highlight the profoundly human impact of these encounters on lives, families, and communities. A timely and timeless cosmic detective story, what will be revealed from this puzzle of seemingly unrelated encounters across different places, times, and cultures is a set of uncanny similarities, and one astonishing truth: extraterrestrial encounters are global, awe-inspiring, and unlike anything ever imagined. All four episodes of ENCOUNTERS dropped on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 on Netflix:

"Messengers": In 2008, sightings of strange lights in the sky over Central Texas attract media attention and ridicule. New radar data supports eyewitnesses' claims.

"Believers": In 1994, over 60 children at a Zimbabwe school claimed to have seen aliens. Years later, witnesses maintain their accounts, while others are skeptical.

"The Broad Haven Triangle": A close encounter at a children's school in a tiny Welsh village spurs a series of sightings. An astrophysicist theorizes about aliens and water.

"Lights Over Fukushima": After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, survivors reported seeing bright lights above the power plant. For some, the event upholds a long-held belief.