Anatomy of a Film: Secret Mall Apartment

What does it take to get a film from an idea to a bona fide hit? For this session, noted filmmaker Jeremy Workman takes us through the full lifecycle of his 2025 sensation Secret Mall Apartment, from first funding conversations to the strategic decisions that shaped how the film found its audience.

Framed as a 360° case study, this “Anatomy of a Film” pulls back the curtain on the practical, creative, and strategic choices behind one of the documentary industry’s biggest recent successes. We’ll dig into how the film was built from the ground up, and what made its path to audiences both unconventional and instructive.

Together, we’ll examine how the filmmaker:
–Secured and structured funding

-Built and scaled the creative and production team

-Made key decisions about how, and where, to spend resources

-Navigated the production process

-Developed festival, marketing, and distribution strategies aligned with the film’s goals

-Capitalized on the factors that drove its theatrical and streaming success

Designed for filmmakers at all stages, this session offers an honest look at what it actually takes to bring a project from idea to audience, including the lessons learned, tradeoffs made, and strategies that can apply well beyond this one film.

 TICKETING INFORMATION

Tickets are $19 ($14 for IFC Center members). Tickets are non-refundable. A transcript, chat, and recording will be emailed to all registrants.

ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION

If you have questions about registration, please email ticketing@docnyc.net. For questions about accommodations and accessibility, including requests for live ASL interpretation, please email accessibility@docnyc.net.

DOC NYC PRO is co-presented by: