In April of 2000, Mark Hogancamp was beaten so brutally in the parking lot of a bar he frequents in Kingston, New York, that he lost all motor skills and his memory. In time and with physical therapy, he got the majority of his motor skills back, but had to rebuild his mind, memories, personality and courage. When his Medicare insurance ran out, he developed his own form of therapy; he built Marwencol, a miniature Belgian village filled with GI Joes, Barbies and other small people he detailed with paint, clothes and stories. He also added buildings, vehicles and props to enhance the authenticity of his actuated imaginings. Through one particular doll, he became the hero of this World War II ravaged town; fighting Nazis, falling in love and having various adventures with characters who often represent people he knows in his Kingston neighborhood. Then he photographs tableaus with a camera that doesn't even have a working light meter.
Mark is still fragile, and saying he will never be the same is an understatement. Before the violent incident, he was a hard drinking, divorced, Navy veteran who dabbled in art. No longer able to use a pen or brush with dexterity, he builds a world and shoots it. Is he a better though damaged person? This is something he wrestles with each day. This film shows his thug-imposed 'fresh start', and how, with his limited resources, he decides who he is going to become. 'Marwencol' is true triumph of the spirit and a fascinating look into the workings of a damaged mind in the act of rebuilding itself. The photographs which have been shown in a New York City gallery with great success are so lifelike and realistic, one has to remember they are dolls and not archival photographs. Exploring Hogancamp's mind through his stories and vivid, eerie photographs is fascinating and has no shortage of unexpected detours.
Marwencol
Director: Jeff Malmberg
Subject: Mark Hogancamp
Time: 83 min.
Opening December 3 at the Lumiere in San Francisco and the Shattuck in Berkeley
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