Peter Jackson discovers that his old neighbor is in fact the widow of Colin MacKenzie, a forgotten New Zealand innovator and unsung hero of auteur film. MacKenzie is an alleged pioneer of modern film and numerous film effects, like color, sound, and panning shot. However, incredibly bad luck, the industry’s strict rules, and ultimately his own madness, have erased him and his work from film primers. Jackson embarks on a search for the film set of his biblical epic Salome, located somewhere in New Zealand forests. Along the way, he interviews his influential colleagues and film professional like Leonard Maltin and Harvey Weinstein, trying to restore the glory of the disregarded genius.