#441 – You have to see this
You have to see Secret Mall Apartment.
It will restore your faith in art, humanity, and the power of documentary cinema.
One of the buzziest films at SXSW 2024, where it sold out 6 screenings and has racked up numerous audience awards on the rest of the festival circuit.
It's a brilliant film that draws you in with its intriguing concept:
What happens when you set out to build a secret apartment inside an unused part of a busy shopping mall? And succeed?!
From there it does an artful job of drawing you deeper and deeper into a fascinating world that you never knew existed.
It's a great film and I absolutely loved it. So I had to find out how it was made!
Secret Mall Apartment: Co-Editors in Conversation
I was lucky enough to chat with the film's director, award-winning documentary filmmaker, Jeremy Workman, who is also the film's co-editor alongside Paul Murphy, who is both an exceptional editor and a superb Adobe Premiere Pro guru.
In this issue of Cut/daily you can enjoy some tightly edited highlights from our hour-long conversation, so click here to read the full conversation, which has more than double the insights shared here.
Among many other things, we covered:
- Co-editing from other sides of the planet
- How Topaz Labs saved the entire project
- A technique for decentralized editing no one seems to talk about
- Paul's slow but fast approach to tackling hours of documentary material
- A unique Test Screening methodology that more filmmakers should try
Where to watch Secret Mall Apartment
If you're in the US, you should really see Secret Mall Apartment in the best way possible - in a cinema with other people!
An independent national screening tour kicks off with the Premiere at the Providence Place Mall, on March 21st and continues through mid-April and beyond.
Here's a short list of just a few of the many places you can watch the film:
- Providence, RI - Providence Place Cinemas 16 - Opens Mar 21
- New York, NY - IFC Center - Opens Mar 26
- Austin, TX - AFS Cinema - Apr 4-5
- Los Angeles, CA - Alamo Drafthouse Downtown LA - Opens Apr 4
- San Francisco, CA - Alamo Drafthouse New Mission - Opens Apr 4
- Austin, TX - Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar - Apr 4 only
- Santa Fe, NM - CCA Santa Fe - Opens Apr 11