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Secret Mall Apartment

In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside a busy mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way. Far more than a prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all involved. (NR, 91 min.)

Showtimes

Friday, April 11, 2025

(TBD)

In 2003, eight young Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment in a hidden space inside the Providence Place Mall and lived in it for four years, filming everything along the way. They snuck in furniture, tapped into the mall’s electricity, and even secretly constructed a brick wall with a locking door, smuggling in over 2 tons of cinderblock. Far more than just a wild prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all its inhabitants – a personal expression of defiance against local gentrification, a boundary-pushing work of public/private art, and finally, a 750 square foot space that sticks it to the man! [https://secretmallapartment.co...]

Starring: Michael Townsend, Colin Bliss, Adriana Valdez-Young
Director: Jeremy Workman
Genre: Documentary

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"Remarkable...A dazzling doc that’s a kiss-off to gentrification."

— The Daily Beast

"Fascinating...Art and rebellion collide in this unique time capsule."

— The Playlist

"Impossibly compelling... Has the tension and fun of a crime caper."

— Paste Magazine

"Entertaining and provocative... A deeper, Borgesian kind of subversiveness."

— Arts Fuse

"Deliriously entertaining."

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture

"At its core, the film offers unique insights into gentrification, consumerism, and the impermanence of art."

— Naina Srivastava, Austin Chronicle

"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."

— Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com

"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."

— Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, AWFJ.org