(Documentary Feature, Winner SUNDANCE Grand Prize)
On the northwest side of Milwaukee, Mark Borchardt dreams the American dream: for him, it’s making movies. Using relatives, local theater talent, slacker friends, his Mastercard, and $3,000 from his Uncle Bill, Mark strives over three years to finish Coven, a short horror film.
Meet Mark Borchardt, the funny, garrulous subject of the not-to-be-missed documentaryAmerican Movie. He’s someone you won’t soon forget. He has dedicated himself to making a no-budget black-and-white horror film that features homemade scarecrows and primitive acting, one that’s not about to rival The Blair Witch Project in anything but the expletive department.
But that doesn’t matter. The point is that Borchardt cobbles together this project as if his life depended on it, because it does. Insightfully and stirringly, not to mention hilariously, American Movie shows why.
Janet Maslin, THE NEW YORK TIMES
A Library Films Production
Directed by Chris Smith
Produced by Sarah Price
Edited by Jun Diaz & Barry Poltermann
