Film: "Meow Wolf: Origin Story"
Jilann Spitzmiller ’89 presents her new immersive documentary about the scrappy DIY art collective—and overnight success—Meow Wolf.
This inspiring documentary from Jilann Spitzmiller ’89 (Shakespeare Behind Bars) follows a scrappy, anarchist-bent, psychedelic art collective which began in a Santa Fe basement and within ten years has grown into a multimillion-dollar company. Meow Wolf’s immersive, large-scale exhibitions cracked open a profitable niche in the arts and entertainment industry, as their social mission becomes challenged by the demands of their rapid success.
When they spark the interest of George R. R. Martin and receive his support to take over an old bowling alley, Meow Wolf builds a massive exhibition called House of Eternal Return with the help of more than 140 artists working at a breakneck pace. The show garners $7 million in the first year. Members fear this success will corrupt their DIY roots, but the group perseveres with a tenacious vision. Hoping to share the new economic model they’ve discovered with creatives everywhere, Meow Wolf has ambitions to become an alternative arts and entertainment empire to rival Disney.
Rounded out with copious footage from installations, interviews with all the key figures and clever animation sequences, this portrait of unbridled creativity continually asks one major question: what’s the difference between chaos and order? And what’s the value of each?
Discussion follows with the director and producer (and Hanover native) Alexandra Renzo.
D: Jilann Spitzmiller ’89, US, 2018, Runtime: 1h28m
