Home is where the mall is. Once touted as a convenient destination, meeting needs for shopping, dining, entertainment, and hanging out, the American mall truly became a home away from home for many. Eight imaginative artists carried the idea further: They created a secret apartment hidden within the shadows of a Providence, Rhode Island mall and squatted there for four years. Seventeen years later, the participants recall how they—partly in protest over gentrification—snuck in and set up a comfy domicile, complete with PlayStation and couches, in an out-of-the-way section in the mall. Filmmaker Jeremy Workman (Lily Topples the World) chronicles the project through the artists’ archival videos and in illuminating interviews in which they recall their close calls and the work they created in their clandestine dwelling. For its utterly fascinating glimpse at the intersection of art, civil disobedience, and mall culture, Secret Mall Apartment is worth a visit.
Monday October 7, 2024 6:00pm - 7:32pm PDT
Sequoia 2
This riveting documentary examines Billy Preston’s extraordinary career and life and pays soulful homage to the musical genius who blazed through the 1960s-‘70s music scene like a supernova.
Billy Preston blazed through the 1960s-‘70s music scene like a supernova, shining brightly until brought down by personal demons and changing tastes. In this riveting documentary, Paris Barclay examines the late musician’s extraordinary career and life. Raised in the Black church, Preston was a child prodigy, playing organ on tour with Mahalia Jackson at 10. As a solo artist, he scored number one hits, but the singer-songwriter-keyboardist might be better known for his collaborations: The Beatles considered him one of them, he recorded and toured with The Rolling Stones, and he played with Little Richard, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Sly Stone, and many others. But there was a dark side to Preston’s success as he wrestled with his sexuality, financial mismanagement, and substance abuse. With archival interviews, testimony from famous friends, and best of all, scads of incandescent performance footage demonstrating Preston’s charisma and monumental talent, Barclay’s doc pays soulful homage to a musical genius.
Monday October 7, 2024 7:30pm - 9:16pm PDT
Sequoia 1