Secret Mall Apartment

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Secret Mall Apartment

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1h 31m

Documentary

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33 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside the busy Providence Place Mall and kept it going for four years, filming everything along the way. Far more than just a wild prank, the secret mall apartment became an incredibly meaningful act for all the participants, at once an act of defiance against local gentrification, a boundary-pushing work of public/private art, and a 750 square foot space that sticks it to the man.

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Bilge Ebiri

New York Magazine/Vulture

The film works as a movie thanks to the sly way it’s been put together.

Mar 21, 2025

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Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

This is a delightful, thought-provoking movie that’s about a lot of things at the same time. It’ll make you see the world with fresh eyes, and probably wonder why there isn’t more art in it.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 21, 2025

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Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

AWFJ.org

Secret Mall Apartment shines the light on the kind of art – and the kinds of artists – who work beyond the limelight, pushing both the law and the very definition of “art” itself to their limits.

Aug 20, 2024

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Mark Keizer

MovieWeb

Maybe the film won't dissuade a city from building a shrine to materialism that...fills our lives with meaningless products. However, it may convince the rest of us that poking the bear of corporate greed and gentrification will always be meaningful.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 26, 2025

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Jim Vorel

Paste Magazine

It’s tough to watch Secret Mall Apartment and not fall under the spell of Townsend and his earnest collaborators, possessing as they do the righteous conviction of young people in a bygone era who are quite certain that they’re going to change the world.

Rated: 7.4/10

Mar 25, 2025

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Joel Copling

Spectrum Culture

Secret Mall Apartment is very much an instance of a filmmaker resurrecting a story that would be unbelievable if it weren’t true.

Mar 25, 2025

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Evelyn

Great documentary! I was tuned in from start to finish. Also had some good laughs. Heard this story growing up but to see actual footage was great. Love the representation of Providence

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/27/25

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Dave W

Very well done documentary that brought you into the movie. Informative and entertaining at the same. And if you live near Providence like I do seeing it in the building it took place adds to the experience.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/26/25

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Pat

Loved it! Funny, entertaining and informative about Providences history.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

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Mark

Entertaining, Fun Film!! Highly recommended especially now due to our countrys housing shortage. Make an opportunity to see this film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

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Kerri

Secret Mall Apartment was so fun! The audience gasped and laughed throughout the whole thing. It was really well done showing footage of the 8 people when they were younger and then transitioning to interviews of them now. As much as this was about the apartment, it was also about Michael Townsend and the evolution of his amazing art. The whole film had a great flow and never got boring. Including actual past footage and todays high definition footage was really cool to see and a reminder of how fast areas or things can become relics. Im from the area and was always fascinated by the story but didnt know the extent of it. It was so wild to watch the film in the mall where it actually happened. I think you need ties to the area to understand and enjoy this film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/22/25

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Ummu

A wonderful movie about the 8 artists that lived in the Providence Place Mall. It tells a wonderful story about the woes of gentrification and these artists’ way of taking back this space of unrealized space. A must see!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/22/25

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Jeremy Workman

Director

Jeremy Workman

Producer

Jesse Eisenberg

Executive Producer

Allen Altman

Executive Producer

Cathie Altman

Executive Producer

Matthew Spain

Executive Producer

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Secret Mall Apartment: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside the busy Providence Place Mall and kept it going for four years, filming everything along the way. Far more than just a wild prank, the secret mall apartment became an incredibly meaningful act for all the participants, at once an act of defiance against local gentrification, a boundary-pushing work of public/private art, and a 750 square foot space that sticks it to the man.

Director: Jeremy Workman
Producer: Jeremy Workman
Distributor: Wheelhouse Creative
Production Co: Wheelhouse Creative, Wildbrush Media, Wrong Turn Productions
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 21, 2025, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $42.5K
Runtime: 1h 31m