Jeremy Workman Explained

Jeremy Workman
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Occupation:Filmmaker, editor
Known For:Secret Mall Apartment, Lily Topples The World, The World Before Your Feet
Education:Columbia University

Jeremy Workman is an American filmmaker and editor. His documentary films frequently focus on artists, eccentrics, outsiders, and those with extreme passions. His acclaimed films include Secret Mall Apartment, Deciding Vote, Lily Topples The World, The World Before Your Feet, Magical Universe, and Who Is Henry Jaglom? In many of his films, Workman serves as the director, cinematographer, and editor.

Life and career

Workman was born in New York City and grew up in Los Angeles. He is the son of filmmaker/editor Chuck Workman and began editing documentary projects under his father's tutelage when he was in his teenage years.[1] He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Columbia University[2] and he has been featured as a distinguished alumni at Columbia University School of the Arts.[3]

Workman's debut film, Who Is Henry Jaglom? (co-directed with Henry Alex Rubin) was presented at numerous film festivals before premiering on PBS's acclaimed documentary series POV.[4] The documentary on filmmaker Henry Jaglom has a 86% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[5]

Workman's 2014 documentary Magical Universe was released theatrically on October 31, 2014, with IFC Films.[6] The film is about reclusive outsider artist Al Carbee who created elaborate dioramas and collages featuring Barbie dolls. The film grew out of Workman's 2002 short film Carbee's Barbies and encompasses the final years of Carbee's life, a time when Workman was Carbee's closest friend and his only link to the outside world.[7] The film won several film festival awards.[8]

Workman's 2018 documentary The World Before Your Feet premiered in competition at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival[9] and was acquired by distributor Greenwich Entertainment.[10] The documentary, about Matt Green's mission to walk every street of New York City, was widely hailed upon its release.[11] [12] It was a New York Times Critic's Pick,[13] a Los Angeles Times Critics Choice,[14] and has a 100% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[15] The film also marked the producing debut of actor Jesse Eisenberg.[16] The film played in movies theaters across the United States for over a year[17] and then returned to theaters in 2025.[18] [19]

Workman's 2021 documentary, Lily Topples The World, about domino toppling artist Lily Hevesh, premiered at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival where it was awarded Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary.[20] Soon after, the film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2021 San Francisco International Film Festival.[21] Actress Kelly Marie Tran serves as an Executive Producer, which marks her producing debut.[22] In May 2021, it was announced that the documentary was a high-profile acquisition of Discovery+.[23] Celebrated by critics, the film has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Workman's 2023 short documentary Deciding Vote, about Assemblyman George M. Michaels and his deciding vote in New York's 1970 abortion bill, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival,[24] was released on The New Yorker,[25] was Shortlisted for the 96th Academy Awards in the Documentary Short Film category,[26] and was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Short Documentary.[27]

Workman's 2024 documentary, Secret Mall Apartment, premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival[28] to wide acclaim.[29] [30] [31] It is about eight young Rhode Island artists who covertly built an apartment in a 750-square-foot (70 m2) empty space inside the architecture of the Providence Place Mall in 2003 after hearing an advertisement about imagining living in the mall.[32] [33] The crew lived secretly within the busy mall for nearly four years, filming much of their activity using inexpensive Pentax Optio cameras that they purchased at the mall's RadioShack and concealed in Altoids tins.[34] Actor Jesse Eisenberg serves as an executive producer, a role he previously served on Workman's The World Before Your Feet.[35] [36] Despite receiving interest from numerous film distributors for Secret Mall Apartment, Workman decided to self-release the film himself.[37] It went on to become one of 2025's biggest documentary box office hits.[38] [39] Celebrated by critics, Secret Mall Apartment is "Certified Fresh" and has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[40]

Following Secret Mall Apartment, Workman began filming a documentary in South Korea about a tiny boarding school in which all 20 students are North Korean defectors.

In addition to being a director, Workman is known for his film editing, primarily as a sought-after editor of movie trailers for indie and documentary films.[41] He has edited over 100 movie trailers and frequently speaks about trailers and movie marketing to filmmakers and film communities throughout the world.[42] [43] [44]

Filmography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 220: Jeremy Workman on "Secret Mall Apartment" . 2025-06-16 . Pure Nonfiction Documentary Storytelling Podcast . en-US.
  2. Web site: 22 August 2019 . Take Five with Jeremy Workman .
  3. Web site: 'Secret Mall Apartment' by Jeremy Workman (CC '94) Captivates Audiences School of the Arts . 2025-06-16 . arts.columbia.edu.
  4. Web site: 23 January 1997 . Who is Henry Jaglom? .
  5. Web site: 25 March 2008 . Who Is Henry Jaglom? . Rotten Tomatoes .
  6. Web site: IFC Films Magical Universe .
  7. Web site: Jeremy Workman Talks About Finding His 'Magical Universe' In Maine . Tribeca Film.
  8. Web site: Gómez . Edward . 10 May 2014 . Al Carbee's Art of Dolls and Yearning: "Oh, for a real, live Barbie!" . Hyperallergic.
  9. Web site: T. H. R. Staff . 2018-03-10 . 'The World Before Your Feet': Film Review SXSW 2018 . 2022-06-09 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
  10. Web site: 25 June 2018 . Jesse Eisenberg-Produced Documentary 'The World Before Your Feet' Finds Distribution (EXCLUSIVE) .
  11. Web site: Harvey . Dennis . 2018-11-22 . Film Review: 'The World Before Your Feet' . 2024-03-18 . Variety . en-US.
  12. Web site: 'The World Before Your Feet' is an eye-opening stroll with a stranger: EW review . 2024-03-18 . EW.com . en.
  13. News: Kenigsberg . Ben . November 21, 2018 . 'The World Before Your Feet' Review: Walk a Mile — or 8,000 — in Another Man's Shoes . November 21, 2018 . The New York Times.
  14. News: Rechtshaffen . Michael . November 20, 2018 . Review: Man walks New York step by step, borough by borough in the uplifting documentary 'The World Before Your Feet' . November 20, 2018 . Los Angeles Times.
  15. Web site: 21 November 2018 . The World Before Your Feet . 21 November 2018 . Rotten Tomatoes.
  16. News: Setoodeh . Ramin . March 11, 2018 . Jesse Eisenberg on SXSW Doc 'The World Before Your Feet,' Returning to Lex Luthor . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180316215616/http://variety.com/2018/film/news/jesse-eisenberg-the-world-before-your-feet-lex-luthor-1202723448/ . March 16, 2018 . March 12, 2018 . Variety . en-US.
  17. Web site: The World Before Your Feet . 2024-03-16 . Box Office Mojo.
  18. Web site: https://www.westnewtoncinema.com/movie/the-world-before-your-feet . 2025-06-16 . www.westnewtoncinema.com.
  19. Web site: The World Before Your Feet - A Movie and A Walk . 2025-06-16 . The Assembly Theatre . en.
  20. Web site: 19 March 2021 . SXSW Film Festival Announces 2021 Jury and Special Awards .
  21. G. Allen Johnson, "SFFilm names ‘Naked Singularity,’ ‘Cuban Dancer,’ ‘Lily Topples the World’ top winners during virtual awards ceremony". San Francisco Chronicle, April 17, 2021.
  22. Web site: 3 March 2021 . The Resurrection of Kelly Marie Tran: On Surviving 'Star Wars' Bullying, the Pressures of Representation, and 'Raya and the Last Dragon' . The Hollywood Reporter.
  23. Web site: 14 May 2021 . Discovery+ Acquires 'Lily Topples The World,' "Can't Miss Doc" On Domino Tipping Sensation Lily Hevesh . https://web.archive.org/web/20210514183530/https://deadline.com/2021/05/discovery-plus-acquires-jeremy-workman-documentary-lily-topples-the-world-1234756490/ . dead . May 14, 2021 . 14 May 2021 . Deadline . 1.
  24. Web site: Deciding Vote 2023 Tribeca Festival . 2024-02-29 . Tribeca.
  25. Yorker . The New . 2023-11-29 . Revisiting New York's Historic Abortion Law in "Deciding Vote" . 2024-02-29 . The New Yorker . en-US . 0028-792X.
  26. Web site: 96TH OSCARS® SHORTLISTS IN 10 AWARD CATEGORIES ANNOUNCED . 2024-02-29 . press.oscars.org . en.
  27. Web site: 2024-07-25 . The 45th News & Documentary Nominations - The Emmys . 2024-10-04 . theemmys.tv . en-US . 2024-09-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901101450/https://theemmys.tv/news-45th-nominations/ . dead .
  28. Web site: Secret Mall Apartment . 2024-02-29 . SXSW 2024 Schedule . en.
  29. Web site: Jacobs . Matthew . 2024-03-21 . The 12 Best Movies We Saw This Year at SXSW . 2024-10-04 . Vulture . en.
  30. News: Spilde . Coleman . 2024-03-09 . These Artists Built an Apartment Inside a Mall, and No One Noticed . 2024-10-04 . The Daily Beast . en.
  31. Web site: Morse . Erik . 2024-04-15 . The Best (and Most Anticipated) Documentaries of 2024 . 2024-10-04 . Vogue . en-US.
  32. Web site: McGowan . Dan . 2024-02-29 . The Rhode Island documentary we've been waiting for - The Boston Globe . 2024-02-29 . BostonGlobe.com . en-US.
  33. Web site: Artists lived in a secret apartment inside Providence Place mall. Now it's a movie. . 2024-02-29 . The Providence Journal . en-US.
  34. Web site: 'Secret Mall Apartment' by Jeremy Workman (CC '94) Captivates Audiences School of the Arts . 2025-02-12 . arts.columbia.edu.
  35. Web site: Lang . Brent . 2024-03-07 . Eight Friends Built a Secret Apartment in a Mall and Hid There Undetected for Years; A New SXSW Documentary Explains How and Why . 2024-03-16 . Variety . en-US.
  36. Web site: Meza . Kimberly . 2024-03-15 . 'Secret Mall Apartment' Reveals the 8 Rhode Islanders that Lived Inside a Mall for 4 Years . 2024-03-18 . Collider . en.
  37. Web site: Hope . Ted . 2025-05-29 . "almost like distributors try to gaslight filmmakers into thinking their films have no value! " . 2025-06-16 . Hope For Film.
  38. Web site: Domestic Box Office Performance for Documentary Movies in 2025 . 2025-06-16 . The Numbers.
  39. Web site: Secret Mall Apartment . 2025-06-16 . Box Office Mojo.
  40. Web site: Secret Mall Apartment Rotten Tomatoes . 2025-06-16 . www.rottentomatoes.com . en.
  41. Web site: Jeremy Workman Workshop Instructor. 2019-09-23. 2019-09-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20190923032211/http://www.dctvny.org/about/people/jeremy-workman/. dead.
  42. Web site: How To Cut a Trailer, "Audiencing" as a Verb, and Branded Content: A Report from DOC NYC's Marketing Bootcamp. 21 April 2017.
  43. Web site: Charla Pública: "El Éxito De Una Película Comienza Con Un Buen Tráiler". 2019-09-23. 2019-09-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20190923032206/http://www.chiledoc.cl/?p=22753. dead.
  44. Web site: Administrator . 2019-10-18 . Master Class with Jeremy Workman . 2025-02-10 . NYU Journalism . en-US.

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