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Secret Mall Apartment

“So much of what the mall sells us is this performance of a consumer lifestyle. The mall apartment was this opportunity to have this set where we could play out the unrealistic and unattainable fantasies of the mall… You love beautifying things? Well, so do we.” — Adriana Valdez Young

When the Providence Place Mall debuted in 1999, it was a destination for lovers of mall culture. It faced the highway and was easily accessible via a dedicated exit on 95. The mall’s purpose was not to serve its own community. In fact there were no entrances to the mall facing downtown. Instead, the mall was positioned in a way that attracted customers who could arrive, park, shop and eat and leave without seeing any other part of the city. And in turn the city would benefit from the increased business.

In the early 2000s my mom and I would venture out to Providence just to visit the mall. In the time we were there wee wouldn’t see a single other part of the city. That is except for a small stretch along the Woonasquatucket River where we drove past seemingly abandoned factories to get to the mall’s parking garage. The contrast between the city’s crumbling architecture and the shiny new mall always made a bit melancholy. Little did I know that at the time in that area was a thriving artist community protesting the capitalist monstrosity with hidden museums and art installations. And one of those installations would make its way into the mall.

Directed by Jeremy Workman, Secret Mall Apartment chronicles a time in Providence, Rhode Island history when a group of eight artists lived in a makeshift apartment in the mall. The intent wasn’t to get free housing. Rather, the secret apartment was both art installation and protest. The artists observed the unique architecture of the mall, found a void in the space that was inhabitable and mastered the art of going undetected as they built and lived in a unique space all their own. Smuggling in items for the apartment, residing and avoiding getting caught by security was all part of their performance. The secret apartment was also a space for these artists to discuss their plans for public art works and using their art to honor their community as well as victims of terrorist attacks.

“I do really believe that art and aesthetic experiences are good in and of themselves. That they’re not means to anything but that they make life better.” — James Mercer

This fascinating documentary includes archival footage of the experiment, interviews with the artists involved and a history of the mall and the local art scene. The film captures a unique time in the city’s history but more importantly  contemplates the purpose of art and the importance of human connection.

Secret Mall Apartment is distributed by Music Box Films and is available on DVD, Blu-ray and Video On Demand.

Posted Short Films

Shorts Spotlight: The Last Observers

The Last Observers
dir. Maja Mikkelsen
25 min.

Karin Persson and Lennart Karlsson have spent nearly forty years observing the patterns of migratory birds in Falsterbo, the most southern part of Sweden. They live and work in a lighthouse; tracking birds, observing clouds and reporting their findings to local weather stations. With the rapid development of technology, their unique service is no longer needed. Now it’s time for this husband-and-wife team to say goodbye to a career that brought them a lousy salary but a happy life.

The Last Observers is a short documentary made by Karin and Lennart’s daughter, filmmaker Maka Mikkelsen. This is a magnificent film. It captures so beautifully the tenderness this couple has for each other and the joy that their work and their time in nature brings them. It also serves as a gentle reminder that climate change is a looming danger and that technology can never replace the human heart and mind.

If you enjoyed films like Fire of Love (2022) or Songs of Earth (2023), make sure to check out The Last Observers.

Posted 2 Comments on Shorts Spotlight: Ma mère et moi Short Films

Shorts Spotlight: Ma mère et moi

Ma mère et moi
dir. Emma Branderhorst
19 minutes

A tender portrait of a mother and daughter parting ways.

On their road trip to Marseilles, where Kees (Celeste Holsheimer) is going to college, mom (Hannah van Lunteren) is clearly not quite ready to let go of her only child. Director Emma Branderhorst beautifully captures this fledgling dynamic where a young person is both eager for independence but sad about losing familiar comfort.

Posted Documentaries

Grizzly Man (2005)

“Treadwell is gone. The argument of how wrong or how right he was, disappears into a distance into a fog. What remains is his footage.” — Werner Herzog

The most disturbing part of Werner Herzog’s documentary Grizzly Man (2005) is not the gruesome nature of Timothy Treadwell’s fate. Rather it’s Treadwell’s misguided benevolence which was self-serving and came from a profound misunderstanding of nature. Herzog weaves found footage from the last few years of Treadwell’s summers observing grizzly bears in Alaska and almost theatrical interviews with his loved ones and locals to paint the portrait a complex individual. While Treadwell’s violent death looms over the film, Herzog expertly engages the audience in what seems like a film within a film, one that Treadwell was still making when his subject became his killer. In the end, this is a film about an individual who went from a child who loved teddy bears to a traumatized man who desperately wanted to be accepted by a dangerous and ultimately indifferent creature.

Posted Short Films

Mermaid, Bitch

“I have scales. This is so f***ed!”

True friendship endures many challenges. But what if one of those challenges happens to be a mermaid transformation?

Written, produced and directed by Victoria Negri (Gold Star), the short film Mermaid, Bitch is a quirky and heartfelt fantasy-comedy about a young woman who wakes up to discover she’s sprouted a mermaid tail overnight. Lily (Alexi Pappas) calls her bestie Ruby (Ruby McCollister) in a panic. After a night of shenanigans and a potentially transformative tarot reading, Lily is now a mermaid and she needs help. Lily and Ruby set out on an adventure through the streets of Los Angeles to get Lily out to her new home: the ocean. Will their friendship survive this radical shift?

“You’re assuming that it is so easy to just become something else and instantly become an advocate for whatever it is that you are and that’s actually really hard to do.”

Mermaid, Bitch is sweet and laugh-out-loud funny. The story can be interpreted as a metaphor for personal transformation and embracing a new identity and the struggles that come with that. It also delivers a nice message about how to be a supportive friend through life’s obstacles.

I can’t help but think that the young adults who grew up reading the Emily Windsnap books as kids would find this story, especially with its Gen Z type of humor, absolutely hilarious.

Alexi Pappas—Olympic athlete and star of the film Olympic Dreams (2019)—and Ruby McCollister play off each other beautifully both giving their characters a unique interpretation of youthful angst. I quite enjoyed seeing the director Victoria Negri‘s cameo as the seemingly judgmental passerby who is surprised by Lily’s mermaid tail.

Mermaid, Bitch is currently available on Omeleto on YouTube. You can watch the full movie below.

JustWatch.com