Best Films on the Arts
Marwencol
Directed by: Jeff Malmberg
www.marwencol.com
“Unpredictable and absorbing, Marwencol poses penetrating questions – about art, outsider status, the mysteries of the human brain and the possibility of second chances – all while circling, ever closer, an unforgettable individual and the unknowable creative impulse.” – Hollywood Reporter
Marwencol is a documentary about the fantasy world of Mark Hogancamp. After being beaten into a brain-damaging coma by five men outside a bar, Mark builds a 1/6th scale World War II-era town in his backyard. Mark populates the town he dubs “Marwencol” with dolls representing his friends and family and creates life-like photographs detailing the town’s many relationships and dramas. Playing in the town and photographing the action helps Mark to recover his hand-eye coordination and deal with the psychic wounds of the attack. When Mark and his photographs are discovered, a prestigious New York gallery sets up an art show. Suddenly Mark’s homemade therapy is deemed “art”, forcing him to choose between the safety of his fantasy life in Marwencol and the real world that he’s avoided since the attack.
(83 minutes)
Best Film on the Arts, Mendocino Film Festival; Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary, South by Southwest Film Festival; Emerging Filmmaker Award, International Documentary Association; Independent Spirit Award, Truer Than Fiction; Cinematic Vision Award, SilverDocs; Best Overall Film, Comic-Con; Best Documentary, Rotten Tomatoes
www.marwencol.com
“Unpredictable and absorbing, Marwencol poses penetrating questions – about art, outsider status, the mysteries of the human brain and the possibility of second chances – all while circling, ever closer, an unforgettable individual and the unknowable creative impulse.” – Hollywood ReporterMarwencol is a documentary about the fantasy world of Mark Hogancamp. After being beaten into a brain-damaging coma by five men outside a bar, Mark builds a 1/6th scale World War II-era town in his backyard. Mark populates the town he dubs “Marwencol” with dolls representing his friends and family and creates life-like photographs detailing the town’s many relationships and dramas. Playing in the town and photographing the action helps Mark to recover his hand-eye coordination and deal with the psychic wounds of the attack. When Mark and his photographs are discovered, a prestigious New York gallery sets up an art show. Suddenly Mark’s homemade therapy is deemed “art”, forcing him to choose between the safety of his fantasy life in Marwencol and the real world that he’s avoided since the attack.
(83 minutes)
Best Film on the Arts, Mendocino Film Festival; Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary, South by Southwest Film Festival; Emerging Filmmaker Award, International Documentary Association; Independent Spirit Award, Truer Than Fiction; Cinematic Vision Award, SilverDocs; Best Overall Film, Comic-Con; Best Documentary, Rotten Tomatoes
This program is made possible by the generous
support of Kemgas.
support of Kemgas.
2011 Mendocino Film Festival