If you’ve spent any time digging through the grittier corners of Letterboxd or Reddit’s movie suggestion threads, you’ve probably seen the title pop up. People talk about it in hushed, almost reverent tones. It’s that one documentary that feels like a gut punch you didn't see coming. We’re talking about We Were Once Kids, the 2021 film directed by Eddie Martin that peels back the layers on one of the most influential "independent" films of the 90s.
It's a heavy watch.
Tracking down We Were Once Kids streaming options has become a bit of a sport for cinephiles. It isn't like a Marvel movie where you just open Disney+ and there it is, sitting pretty. No, this is one of those projects that drifts between platforms, caught in the web of regional licensing and the ever-shifting landscape of indie distribution. Honestly, it’s a bit ironic. A film about the exploitation and the "lost" nature of a group of street kids is itself somewhat difficult to pin down in the digital age.
Let's be real: Larry Clark’s Kids (1995) changed everything. It was touted as this hyper-authentic look at NYC youth culture. But Eddie Martin’s documentary argues that the "authenticity" came at a massive, lifelong cost to the actual kids involved—the ones who weren't Chloe Sevigny or Rosario Dawson.
What People Get Wrong About We Were Once Kids
Most people go into this thinking it’s a standard "making-of" featurette. It isn't. Not even close. If you're looking for a celebratory look at how a low-budget indie became a cult classic, you’re in the wrong place.
The documentary focuses heavily on Hamilton Harris, who was one of the original skaters in the 1995 film. He’s the one who helped write the story, or at least provided the life experiences that Harmony Korine turned into a screenplay. The narrative here is about reclamation. It's about how these kids from the Washington Square Park scene were essentially used as "raw material" for a middle-class art project. They were paid pittance—some reports say just a few hundred dollars—while the film went on to make millions and launch massive careers for the outsiders who directed and wrote it.
The complexity here is wild. You see the footage of Justin Pierce and Harold Hunter, both of whom passed away tragically young. It’s heartbreaking. You realize that while the world saw a "cool" movie about nihilistic youth, the kids on screen were actually living those stakes. There was no safety net for them when the cameras stopped rolling.
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Why the streaming search is so frustrating
The availability of We Were Once Kids streaming fluctuates because it’s an Australian production (distributed by Madman Entertainment) that had to find different homes in the US and UK. For a long time, it lived exclusively on platforms like MUBI or Hulu, depending on which month you checked.
As of early 2026, the rights are still a bit of a patchwork. In many territories, it has moved toward the "VOD" (Video on Demand) model. This means you’re more likely to find it for rent on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, or Google Play than you are to find it "free" on a subscription service.
Why? Because niche documentaries don't always generate the massive, sustained "watch hours" that Netflix craves. They exist in this middle ground where they are critically acclaimed—winning awards at festivals like Tribeca—but lack the marketing budget to stay on a front-page carousel for long.
The Ethical Mess Behind the Camera
You can't talk about this documentary without talking about the ethics of 90s indie cinema. Larry Clark and Harmony Korine are polarizing figures for a reason. Martin’s film doesn't necessarily scream "villain" at them, but it lets the silence and the current lives of the survivors speak for themselves.
The contrast is stark.
On one hand, you have the "Success Stories." People who used Kids as a springboard into high fashion, Hollywood, and legitimate stardom. On the other, you have the skaters who were the heartbeat of the film. For them, the movie wasn't a beginning; it was a bizarre detour that left them back where they started, only now with the weird burden of being "famous" without being stable.
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Hamilton Harris serves as the emotional anchor here. He’s spent years trying to process what happened. Watching him revisit the old haunts in New York is surreal. It’s a ghost story. He’s walking through a city that has been gentrified beyond recognition, mourning friends who didn't survive the lifestyle that the 1995 film turned into "content."
Critical Reception and Why You Should Care
Critics generally loved the film because it avoids the traps of sensationalism. It’s quiet. It’s reflective. The Guardian and Variety both noted how the film acts as a necessary correction to the "cool" mythos of the 90s.
- Raw Footage: The doc uses a ton of never-before-seen home movies from the 90s.
- The "Real" Telly: It deconstructs the characters we thought we knew.
- Legacy: it asks what we owe the subjects of our art.
If you are a fan of skate culture or the history of New York City, this is mandatory viewing. It’s not just about a movie; it’s about a moment in time when the world was looking at these kids, but nobody was actually seeing them.
Where to Look for We Were Once Kids Streaming Today
If you’re ready to watch, don't just check the big three (Netflix, Max, Disney). You have to be more surgical.
First, check MUBI. They specialize in this kind of high-brow, culturally significant documentary. Even if it’s not currently in their "now showing" rotation, they often cycle it back in for special retrospectives.
Second, look at Kanopy or Hoopla. If you have a library card, these services are a goldmine for documentaries that have been pushed off the mainstream platforms. It’s often available there for free because these services prioritize educational and artistic value over commercial trends.
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Third, if you’re in Australia, ABC iView or Stan often carry it since it’s a local production. For those outside Australia, a VPN might be your best friend here, though navigate those waters at your own risk.
Honestly, the most reliable way right now is just to pay the $3.99 or $4.99 on YouTube Movies or Vudu. It’s the price of a coffee, and for a film that explores how these kids were underpaid for their life stories, paying a few bucks to the distributors who finally gave them a voice feels like the right move anyway.
The Lingering Impact of the "Kids"
It’s easy to forget how much Kids shocked the system. It was rated NC-17. It dealt with HIV, drug use, and sexual assault in a way that felt dangerously close to the bone. We Were Once Kids reminds us that for the cast, it was the bone.
There’s a specific scene in the documentary where they talk about the premiere. These kids, who were living in squats or cramped apartments, were suddenly being flown to Cannes. They were wearing tuxedos. They were the toast of the town. And then, the festival ended. They flew back to JFK, took the train home, and... nothing. No transition. No support.
That’s the core of the tragedy.
Actionable Insights for the Viewer
Watching this film isn't just about entertainment; it's about developing a more critical eye for the media we consume. When you finally find We Were Once Kids streaming, keep these things in mind to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch the original 'Kids' first (if you can handle it). It’s a brutal watch, but it provides the necessary context for the documentary’s emotional weight.
- Research the 'Washington Square Park' skaters. Understanding the history of NYC skate culture in the early 90s makes the "lost" feeling of the documentary much more poignant.
- Support Hamilton Harris’s other projects. He has become a storyteller in his own right, working to tell the history of skating from the inside out, rather than through an external lens.
- Check Letterboxd lists. There are several curated lists titled "The Kids Universe" that include this doc, the original film, and other related media like Ken Park or the photography books of Larry Clark. These provide a 360-degree view of that era.
The reality of independent film is that it’s often built on the backs of people who never see the rewards. We Were Once Kids is the rare film that gives those people the microphone. It’s a heavy, beautiful, and necessary piece of cinema history that deserves the effort it takes to find it.
To find the most current streaming home for We Were Once Kids, your best bet is to use a dedicated search tool like JustWatch. It tracks daily changes in library catalogs across all major and minor platforms. If it’s not on a subscription service today, set an alert. This is one story that shouldn't be allowed to fade back into the background.