April 4, 2025 • 9 mins
A new documentary called “Secret Mall Apartment” takes us into the world of a group of eight artists in the early 2000s who find an open space in the walls of a local mall big enough to move into. They spent years moving furniture, food, and people in and out of their secret space, all undetected. What they needed was a place to live. But what they found was a new community and a sense of purpose. The film is receiving critical acclaim and is now playing in limited release across the country. The film is directed by Jeremy Workman and executive produced by Jesse Eisenberg.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
A new documentary called Secret Mall Apartment takes us into
the world of a group of eight artists in the
early two thousands who find an open space in the
walls of a local mall big enough to move into.
They spent years moving furniture, food, and people in and
out of their secret space undetected. What they needed was
a place to live, but what they found was a
(00:20):
new community and a sense of purpose. The film is
directed by Jeremy Workman and executive produced by Jesse Eisenberg.
Joining me now to talk about how it all came
together is Jeremy Workman. How did you find this story?
It's such a unique and interesting take on sort of
counterculture and art and housing. How did this story present
(00:43):
itself to you?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, the Ciga Mall Apartment story is so incredible. It
was providence, folklore and legend for I mean nearly twenty years,
and so many filmmakers wanted to make this documentary. So
I'm like, I'm like really stoked and feel really privileged
that I got a chance to be the director on it.
The story I met randomly, like so randomly, the main character,
(01:09):
Michael Townsend, and then he told me about this. I
became just obsessed with this story, and I didn't know
it at all. I'm not from Providence, I'm from Los Angeles,
and I didn't know anything about it. And I spent
a year to try to convince him and the other
people involved to let me be the filmmaker to make
(01:32):
the documentary.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
And what was it about this story that stood out
to you? Was it the fact that these kids sort
of made their own housing situation. Was it the fact
that they were able to skirt security of this giant mall.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I mean, the whole story is just so bonkers and
amazing and just bananas, you know. For in the early
two thousands, these eight you know, troublemakers, artists, instigators, whatever
you want to call them. They're angry about the mall
that came into their neighborhood and displaced all these people.
This is the Providence Place Mall in the middle of Providence,
(02:07):
and they were mad and didn't know what to do
about this sort of gentrification development, you know, just gone crazy,
and they just snuck into this mall, found a space,
and they decided to turn it into their secret apartment,
which lasted four years. But what was amazing about this
story was how that was just sort of the beginning
(02:30):
of it, and that there was so many tentacles of
the story that kind of went off in all these
different directions, stuff about gentrification in this area, stuff about protest,
but also about like all this artwork that you know
that this group was doing. They it wasn't just a prank.
It had so many sort of deeper textures. And I
(02:51):
think that's what most interest me was how it was
this little story that just opened up to so many
different discussions.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
One thing that stood out to me was, you know,
here in Los Angeles. I know you're a California guy.
Here in Los Angeles, we have so many challenges with housing.
And what stood out to me was how they took
this moment of gentrification of you know, a giant property
coming in and removing smaller buildings and other places to live,
and they used it as an opportunity to create a
(03:21):
place to live and housing. Do you think that, given
the environment we're in right now, that this may inspire
other people to start look for looking for unique ways
or unique places to live. Are we at that point?
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I mean, I sure hope they don't. They don't sneak
into malls and try to find secret spaces though that,
you know, because it is illegal. But no, I think
that what's so interesting was, you know, I think a
lot of people and we've seen this as we've been
showing this documentary across the country. Although this took place
in Providence in the early two thousands, so many people
(03:57):
in different cities feel like they can relate to this story.
You know, a lot of people feel powerless to development
or gentrification happening. They feel powerless to these big corporate
entities that come in and reshape their neighborhoods. And that's
what happened to these folks. You know, they were young artists,
they lost their home, They didn't know what they could
(04:19):
do or what they would do, and they decided just
to do this kind of crazy bonker's stunt that ended
up going four years. You know, they moved, they snuck
into them all, they found a space, and it somehow
turned into this protest and this call to action about housing.
So I think it just really connects with people everywhere.
(04:39):
And what started as this Providence you know folklore has
kind of blossomed and mushroomed into something that's a bigger
story for a lot of people on a lot of cities.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
And I understand Jesse Eisenberg is one of the executive
producers on here. Can you talk about how he came
on board and how that connection happened.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Oh? Sure, Jesse's been a very close collaborator with me
and in this project. Jesse first produced another documentary in
mine called The World Before Your Feet, which is about
a guy who's walking every street of New York City,
and it got like a really great, great release, and
I guess that was around twenty nineteen, played all over
Los Angeles, was at the New Art But Jesse and
(05:22):
I remained friends from that and we've been, you know,
friends for a long time. We're very aligned in like
how we see the world. And when I was working
on this, I was showing him footage of these guys,
you know, living in the mall. And it should be
mentioned that the eight people that lived in this secret apartment,
they filmed everything for four years and they didn't share
any of that footage with anyone. But I showed Jesse
(05:44):
when I was showing this, and he just couldn't believe
his eyes. He couldn't believe, you know, them bringing in
furniture and putting up cinderblock walls and everything that they
were doing while they were in the apartment, and he
kind of wanted to sign on right away. And he's
been so active in our process. He's at Q and
A's all the time. He does all this outreach and
(06:06):
he's been involved, like since the early early part of this.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
One of the things I enjoyed about this was at
the heart of the film are these sort of artists,
these counterculture kids who were making their own space and
making space for themselves to not just live and sleep,
but hang out and create more. And as you said,
the many tentacles of this story delved into the art
(06:30):
culture and beyond. And I would love to know what
they did. Have a lot of foresight to record a
lot of what they were doing. I would love to
know where are they now and how do they look
back on this moment in their lives? Are they embarrassed?
Are they proud? Are they do they have regret?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
I mean, it's I think it's all different for all
eight of them. You know, this was seventeen years ago.
They're all still very much artists. They're all active artists,
and you know, some of them are really successful in
their own right. And they all do really great work.
So I think, you know, it's so interesting. You know,
it's like how, you know, how our lives go, and
(07:11):
here they were seventeen years ago doing this kind of
crazy thing on a lark, and how it's kind of
strikes a chord and it's kind of stuck with us
all these years, and here we are releasing this movie,
this documentary now, and it's kind of re energizing this story.
I think there's something that really taps into people's psyche
(07:31):
about it. You know, there's some sort of fantasy about,
you know, oh, what would it be like to live
in them all? That we all could relate to. But
then you watch the movie and you also realized that,
you know, the work that they were doing with artists
is really inspiring and moving and profound, and it also
gets into all kinds of questions about protest and what
(07:52):
it all means. So I think it just it's the
right time now to release it now, And I think
all those artists have really embraced.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
That Secret Mall Apartment is such a clever title. It's
actually describes it pretty perfectly, and it is. It was
such a joy to watch, and I want to ask
you what do you find entertaining these days? What entertains you?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I think, you know, I as there's so much entertainment,
there's so much content. There's so much you could watch
out there, you know, whether it's social media or movies
or television. I think what continues to really connect with
people is how stuff can be entertaining in one hand,
but then also take you to a different place than
(08:35):
the other. And I think that's what people really are
responding more and more to these days. You know, not
just like oh, pure, this is pure escapism, but that
it's escapism and that maybe it also connects with like
bigger issues. And I think people more and more are
really kind of eager for that experience with entertainment. So
(08:56):
hopefully we fit, you know, right into that kind of idea. Well.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I thank you, absolutely do. Jeremy Workman, thank you so much.
Congratulations again on Secret Mall Apartment.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Thanks a lot, And people could see it in Los
Angeles at the Draft House and Vidiots, and we're in
a lot of theaters across the United States. They can
find more info at Secretmall Apartment dot com.
A new documentary called Secret Mall Apartment takes us into
the world of a group of eight artists in the
early two thousands who find an open space in the
walls of a local mall big enough to move into.
They spent years moving furniture, food, and people in and
out of their secret space undetected. What they needed was
a place to live, but what they found was a
(00:20):
new community and a sense of purpose. The film is
directed by Jeremy Workman and executive produced by Jesse Eisenberg.
Joining me now to talk about how it all came
together is Jeremy Workman. How did you find this story?
It's such a unique and interesting take on sort of
counterculture and art and housing. How did this story present
(00:43):
itself to you?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, the Ciga Mall Apartment story is so incredible. It
was providence, folklore and legend for I mean nearly twenty years,
and so many filmmakers wanted to make this documentary. So
I'm like, I'm like really stoked and feel really privileged
that I got a chance to be the director on it.
The story I met randomly, like so randomly, the main character,
(01:09):
Michael Townsend, and then he told me about this. I
became just obsessed with this story, and I didn't know
it at all. I'm not from Providence, I'm from Los Angeles,
and I didn't know anything about it. And I spent
a year to try to convince him and the other
people involved to let me be the filmmaker to make
(01:32):
the documentary.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
And what was it about this story that stood out
to you? Was it the fact that these kids sort
of made their own housing situation. Was it the fact
that they were able to skirt security of this giant mall.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I mean, the whole story is just so bonkers and
amazing and just bananas, you know. For in the early
two thousands, these eight you know, troublemakers, artists, instigators, whatever
you want to call them. They're angry about the mall
that came into their neighborhood and displaced all these people.
This is the Providence Place Mall in the middle of Providence,
(02:07):
and they were mad and didn't know what to do
about this sort of gentrification development, you know, just gone crazy,
and they just snuck into this mall, found a space,
and they decided to turn it into their secret apartment,
which lasted four years. But what was amazing about this
story was how that was just sort of the beginning
(02:30):
of it, and that there was so many tentacles of
the story that kind of went off in all these
different directions, stuff about gentrification in this area, stuff about protest,
but also about like all this artwork that you know
that this group was doing. They it wasn't just a prank.
It had so many sort of deeper textures. And I
(02:51):
think that's what most interest me was how it was
this little story that just opened up to so many
different discussions.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
One thing that stood out to me was, you know,
here in Los Angeles. I know you're a California guy.
Here in Los Angeles, we have so many challenges with housing.
And what stood out to me was how they took
this moment of gentrification of you know, a giant property
coming in and removing smaller buildings and other places to live,
and they used it as an opportunity to create a
(03:21):
place to live and housing. Do you think that, given
the environment we're in right now, that this may inspire
other people to start look for looking for unique ways
or unique places to live. Are we at that point?
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I mean, I sure hope they don't. They don't sneak
into malls and try to find secret spaces though that,
you know, because it is illegal. But no, I think
that what's so interesting was, you know, I think a
lot of people and we've seen this as we've been
showing this documentary across the country. Although this took place
in Providence in the early two thousands, so many people
(03:57):
in different cities feel like they can relate to this story.
You know, a lot of people feel powerless to development
or gentrification happening. They feel powerless to these big corporate
entities that come in and reshape their neighborhoods. And that's
what happened to these folks. You know, they were young artists,
they lost their home, They didn't know what they could
(04:19):
do or what they would do, and they decided just
to do this kind of crazy bonker's stunt that ended
up going four years. You know, they moved, they snuck
into them all, they found a space, and it somehow
turned into this protest and this call to action about housing.
So I think it just really connects with people everywhere.
(04:39):
And what started as this Providence you know folklore has
kind of blossomed and mushroomed into something that's a bigger
story for a lot of people on a lot of cities.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
And I understand Jesse Eisenberg is one of the executive
producers on here. Can you talk about how he came
on board and how that connection happened.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Oh? Sure, Jesse's been a very close collaborator with me
and in this project. Jesse first produced another documentary in
mine called The World Before Your Feet, which is about
a guy who's walking every street of New York City,
and it got like a really great, great release, and
I guess that was around twenty nineteen, played all over
Los Angeles, was at the New Art But Jesse and
(05:22):
I remained friends from that and we've been, you know,
friends for a long time. We're very aligned in like
how we see the world. And when I was working
on this, I was showing him footage of these guys,
you know, living in the mall. And it should be
mentioned that the eight people that lived in this secret apartment,
they filmed everything for four years and they didn't share
any of that footage with anyone. But I showed Jesse
(05:44):
when I was showing this, and he just couldn't believe
his eyes. He couldn't believe, you know, them bringing in
furniture and putting up cinderblock walls and everything that they
were doing while they were in the apartment, and he
kind of wanted to sign on right away. And he's
been so active in our process. He's at Q and
A's all the time. He does all this outreach and
(06:06):
he's been involved, like since the early early part of this.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
One of the things I enjoyed about this was at
the heart of the film are these sort of artists,
these counterculture kids who were making their own space and
making space for themselves to not just live and sleep,
but hang out and create more. And as you said,
the many tentacles of this story delved into the art
(06:30):
culture and beyond. And I would love to know what
they did. Have a lot of foresight to record a
lot of what they were doing. I would love to
know where are they now and how do they look
back on this moment in their lives? Are they embarrassed?
Are they proud? Are they do they have regret?
Speaker 2 (06:48):
I mean, it's I think it's all different for all
eight of them. You know, this was seventeen years ago.
They're all still very much artists. They're all active artists,
and you know, some of them are really successful in
their own right. And they all do really great work.
So I think, you know, it's so interesting. You know,
it's like how, you know, how our lives go, and
(07:11):
here they were seventeen years ago doing this kind of
crazy thing on a lark, and how it's kind of
strikes a chord and it's kind of stuck with us
all these years, and here we are releasing this movie,
this documentary now, and it's kind of re energizing this story.
I think there's something that really taps into people's psyche
(07:31):
about it. You know, there's some sort of fantasy about,
you know, oh, what would it be like to live
in them all? That we all could relate to. But
then you watch the movie and you also realized that,
you know, the work that they were doing with artists
is really inspiring and moving and profound, and it also
gets into all kinds of questions about protest and what
(07:52):
it all means. So I think it just it's the
right time now to release it now, And I think
all those artists have really embraced.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
That Secret Mall Apartment is such a clever title. It's
actually describes it pretty perfectly, and it is. It was
such a joy to watch, and I want to ask
you what do you find entertaining these days? What entertains you?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I think, you know, I as there's so much entertainment,
there's so much content. There's so much you could watch
out there, you know, whether it's social media or movies
or television. I think what continues to really connect with
people is how stuff can be entertaining in one hand,
but then also take you to a different place than
(08:35):
the other. And I think that's what people really are
responding more and more to these days. You know, not
just like oh, pure, this is pure escapism, but that
it's escapism and that maybe it also connects with like
bigger issues. And I think people more and more are
really kind of eager for that experience with entertainment. So
(08:56):
hopefully we fit, you know, right into that kind of idea. Well.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I thank you, absolutely do. Jeremy Workman, thank you so much.
Congratulations again on Secret Mall Apartment.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Thanks a lot, And people could see it in Los
Angeles at the Draft House and Vidiots, and we're in
a lot of theaters across the United States. They can
find more info at Secretmall Apartment dot com.
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