Winner of nine top awards from prestigious film festivals around the country, “Secret Mall Apartment” — from executive producer Jesse Eisenberg — tells the amazing true story of eight young Rhode Islanders who built and lived in a secret apartment inside a busy mall from 2003 to 2007.
In 2003, eight Rhode Island artists created a secret apartment inside the busy Providence Place Mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way. They snuck in furniture, tapped into the mall’s electricity, and even constructed a wall, smuggling in more than two tons of cinderblock.
Far more than just a wild prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for its inhabitants. It was a personal expression of defiance against local gentrification, a boundary-pushing work of public/private art, a clubhouse in which large-scale charitable art projects were planned, and, finally, a 750 square-foot "F-you" to The Man.
Featuring never-before-seen footage of the space and revealing the identities of all the participants for the first time, “Secret Mall Apartment” is more than just a bonkers true story. Director Jeremy Workman delivers a poignant exploration of a group of artists who discovered their purpose within the most commercial and improbable places.