Films from Past Years
/ MarwencolUSA | Documentary Feature | 2010 | 83 min | Website
Director: Jeff Malmberg
Awards: SXSW Festival – Grand Jury Award – Best Documentary; IFFBoston – Special Jury Award – Best Documentary; Hot Docs – HBO Emerging Artist Award; Seattle International Film Festival – Grand Jury Award – Best Documentary; Seattle International Film Festival – Audience Top 10; Silverdocs – Cinematic Vision Award; Comic-Con – Best Documentary; Comic-Con – Judges’ Choice Award (Best Overall Film)
Marewencol 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.
