American Movie (1999)

​REM is a film club for filmmakers. Twice a month, we screen a film, discuss it—sometimes with the artists behind it—and unwind with snacks and drinks. Our programming is split into arcs that focus on a specific aspect of filmmaking. We’re starting meta: our first arc is Films about Filmmaking.

We’ll kick off with American Movie, a cult documentary that follows Mark Borchardt, a scrappy, working-class filmmaker in Wisconsin, as he battles cash woes, chaos, and personal drama to finish his low-budget short film. After the documentary, we’ll screen Borchardt’s 40-minute film, Coven.

​Letterboxd reviews:

​"This movie is often cited as an example of a documentary that exploits its subject, but if you watch this and can only laugh at Mark Borchardt, that's on you. I'd hate to live in a world where his story isn't told."

​"Remember Napoleon Dynamite? They made him into a real thing."

​"I’ve been watching this movie over and over for twenty years now and as time goes on it only gets funnier and more aesthetically iconic."

​"Mike remains the most pure person ever captured on film."