Netflix Announces Documentary Special: "Ralph Rumpelton: The Storm That Never Came"

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Netflix Announces Documentary Special: "Ralph Rumpelton: The Storm That Never Came"

Acclaimed Director Examines the Enigmatic Digital Artist Who Found Beauty in MS Paint

Los Gatos, CA — November 8, 2025 — Netflix today announced production of Ralph Rumpelton: The Storm That Never Came, a feature-length documentary exploring the life and work of the reclusive digital artist whose defiantly lo-fi creations have captivated critics and puzzled audiences in equal measure.

Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Petra Holyoke (The Canvas Underground, Pixels and Dust), the documentary traces Rumpelton's journey from obscurity to unlikely art world fascination, examining how an artist working exclusively in Microsoft Paint—software most abandoned decades ago—created works that scholars like Sebastian Puff Draganov have called "prophetic inversions of the digital age."

"Ralph's story is about creative constraint turned into radical freedom," says Holyoke. "In an era of infinite digital possibilities, he chose the most limited tool imaginable and made it sing. Or perhaps more accurately, made it howl."

The film features rare interviews with Rumpelton, who speaks candidly about his process, his influences, and the "imagined interlocutors" he claims guide his work. Alongside archival footage and unprecedented access to his creative process, the documentary includes commentary from leading art historians, digital culture theorists, and fellow artists who have been influenced by his uncompromising vision.

Key elements include:

• Exclusive studio access documenting Rumpelton's painstaking process, working with a mouse and obsolete software on a laptop held together with duct tape
• Expert perspectives from Sebastian Puff Draganov, who has championed Rumpelton's work as "the seriousness of the unserious made manifest"
• The Vienna Incident: First-hand accounts of Rumpelton's only public gallery appearance, which ended in controversy and self-imposed exile
• Digital archaeology: Exploration of the lost early works, including the legendary "Parking Lot" series that first caught Draganov's attention
• The community: Interviews with the small but devoted online following who have elevated Rumpelton from curiosity to cultural phenomenon

"What fascinates me is the question of why now," notes Executive Producer Marcus Webb. "Why does an artist working in the most primitive digital medium resonate so deeply in 2025? Ralph's work asks us to reconsider what we've lost in the pursuit of technological perfection."

The documentary also examines broader questions about authenticity in digital art, the role of limitation in creativity, and whether Rumpelton is a genuine visionary or an elaborate postmodern joke—a question the artist himself seems disinclined to answer.

"I just paint what I see," Rumpelton says in the film's trailer. "Or what I don't see. The storms that never arrive. The skies that never clear. MS Paint doesn't lie—it doesn't know how."

Ralph Rumpelton: The Storm That Never Came will premiere globally on Netflix in Spring 2026, with a limited theatrical release in select cities to precede the streaming debut.

About Netflix Netflix is one of the world's leading entertainment services, with 283 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.

Media Contact: Sarah Chen
Netflix Global Publicity
schen@netflix.com
(310) 555-0847

Production Contact: Holyoke Films
info@holyokefilms.com

  Follow Rumpelton across the multiverse:

   Ralph Rumpelton  “Painting What the Earth Can’t Comprehend”  -   Ralph Rumpelton User Profile  DeviantArt   -  Ralph Rumpelton  Substack - Instagram