Picture Credit: Wheelhouse Creative / Music Box Films
The stranger-than-fiction true story that captivated festival audiences at SXSW is finally coming to streaming. Secret Mall Apartment, the documentary about a group of artists who secretly lived inside a major shopping center for years, has been picked up by Netflix.
Directed by Jeremy Workman (The World Before Your Feet) and executive produced by Jesse Eisenberg, the film has been building buzz since its festival premiere in 2024. After a limited theatrical run last year, it is now ready to reach a global audience.
We can confirm that Secret Mall Apartment will be available to stream on Netflix starting Friday, January 23rd, 2026. Per When to Stream, this marks the first time the doc has been available on a streaming service. The film received rave reviews upon its VOD release in September and select theatrical engagements throughout 2025.
Wheelhouse Creative is behind the production with Wrong Turn Productions. Submarine Entertainment is reportedly the sales representative, and Music Box Films is the distributor.
What is the story behind Secret Mall Apartment?
The documentary recounts a bizarre and audacious stunt that began in 2003. A group of eight Rhode Island artists, led by Michael Townsend, discovered a 750-square-foot unused space inside the Providence Place Mall.
Rather than ignoring it, they (Townsend, Colin Bliss, Adriana Valdez-Young, and Andrew Oesch) decided to move in.
For four years, the group lived undetected in the mall, building a fully furnished apartment complete with electricity (tapped from the mall’s grid), a sectional sofa, a china cabinet, and even a PlayStation. The film utilizes hundreds of hours of never-before-seen footage shot by the artists themselves during their clandestine residency.
The official synopsis describes it as:
“In 2003, eight young creative Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside the Providence Place shopping mall and lived in it for four years, filming everything along the way. Far more than just a prank, the apartment became a deeply meaningful place for its inhabitants—a personal expression of defiance against local gentrification and a boundary-pushing work of performance art.”
It carries a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and strong audience scores, too. Andrew Parker for The Gate wrote in his review, “Whether you view [it] as a bit of commentary or just a light-hearted rib, either way, you’re right. Secret Mall Apartment profiles people who created a work of disruptive art that creates an emotional connection by not being traditionally disruptive.
Picture Credit: Music Box Films
Will you be checking into the Secret Mall Apartment on January 23rd? Let us know in the comments below!
