Local filmmaker Morgan Capps debuts her new documentary
We write a lot about film here in The Pulse, mainly because we love movies. So it’s always cool when we learn of a local filmmaker getting some national attention. Like Chattanooga’s own Morgan Capps, whose first feature film is playing in movie theaters across the country, including locally this Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. at East Ridge 18 and Hamilton Place 8.
Meow Wolf: Origin Story is of a group of young DIY artists in Santa Fe who, when they can’t find a door into the art world, blow open an entirely new portal with their grit, passion, and tenacity. Within just a few short years—and with a little help from George R.R. Martin, author and creator of Game of Thrones—this group called Meow Wolf ultimately hits a cultural nerve and garners massive, unexpected success with their exhibit, House of Eternal Return.
The film follows artists whose identities have been shaped within this group dynamic, blowing the lid off stewing conflict between diverse egos, artistic freedom vs organization, individual passion, and the good of the collective. They must walk this fine line between chaos and order, inspiration and mental illness, and finally, success and destruction as they navigate their future together.
The art collective the film depicts has generated global attention for the economic model it developed to pay artists more fairly for large-scale work. In fact, a number of Chattanooga artists have begun exploring ways to emulate the Meow Wolf model here in our city.
With the film screening in Chattanooga for one night only, this is a rare opportunity for locals interested arts and culture to get a deeper view into the evolving underground arts movement taking place across the U.S. We hope you can find time to come see this fascinating documentary, and help support our very own Morgan Capps.