In 2000, Mark Hogancamp was beaten by five men outside a bar in Kingston, New York. The attack was so brutal that afterward his mother Edda did not recognize him. When Hogancamp emerged from a 9-day coma, brain damage left him without language, or the ability to walk or eat without assistance. Hogancamp received state-sponsored physical and occupational therapy for twelve months, but when the aid ran dry he was on his own.
Refusing to “let those men win”, Hogancamp set about creating his own therapy, a 1/6th scale WW2 era town called Marwencol. He populated it with alter egos and played out scenes in order to make sense of life and humanity.
I’m really proud to have been able to bring his story – and his photographs as documents of that story – to a wider audience. Please read Miniature Town Brings Its Creator a New Life.
Check out the Marwencol documentary film website.
Prison Photography 
15 comments
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April 19, 2011 at 5:02 pm
duckrabbit
wow … REALLY WANT TO SEE THIS DOCO …
April 26, 2011 at 11:24 pm
sierraseven
I just saw this on PBS “Independent Lens”. It’s stunning. Find it, see it. This was the first time in a long time that I had my TV on and I didn’t have a nagging voice in my head telling me that I was wasting valuable time.
April 27, 2011 at 7:16 am
fabio
just watched this, movie was absolutely inspirational and moving. he is so strong.
April 28, 2011 at 11:38 pm
Somerville,mass
I too had just seen the documentary…..absolutely astounding! i just hope they caught the idiots whom hurt mark soooo bad.
April 29, 2011 at 12:03 am
Somerville,mass
I just remembered … Mark admits hes an alcoholic. No wonder he was in a fight. And did we see a film of his wedding day? Was that him? I’d like to hear from his ex-wives … well maybe … no doubt they/her couldn’t put up with the fights. Alcoholics are extremely selfish people, in case you didn’t know. It’s a fact.
May 1, 2011 at 10:00 am
Jeri
wow. I am riveted to the tv for the first time in a long time! Have to see more.
May 5, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Lin
Facinating, watched on PBS Independent Lens the other day. Will watch again if I get a chance. As far as the previous remarks on here saying it was no wonder he was in a fight since he was an alcohlic, pretty ignorant statement as far as I’m concerned & that’s a FACT.
May 13, 2011 at 10:16 pm
spursfaninla
The central figure was beaten up because he is a cross dresser; I am sure his being an alcoholic was part of why he told the men the truth about himself, and maybe he pissed them off while drunk also, but I think the cross dressing was the bigger issue. The movie was emotionally powerful and I hope his art does well; the artist is emotionally crippled now and should at least be financially comfortable. I wish the guys who beat him had money so he could sue the crap out of them.
May 14, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Metalhaid
@Sommerville.Mass: You’re pretty judgmental of a guy who NO MATTER HIS PREVIOUS LIFE, had NO MEMORY of being an alcoholic and what he did to anyone else.
This guy has suffered what few people go through. Cut him some fucking slack. He is an amazing artist and has channeled his pain & rage into something incredible. He should have an amanuensis to chronicle The Marwencol Tales, so he can make some real $.
Mark, I wish you much happiness & love and I hope your Anna is just around the bend waiting for you.
May 14, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Metalhaid
Oh yeah and as the product of 2 alkie parents and as a female who made some really bad boyfriend choices prior to finding & marrying my soul mate of 25 years, yeah, I know all about how selfish alcoholics are; it’s offensive that you presume you’re the only one who knows about alcoholics.
October 19, 2011 at 12:00 pm
gerald
WHO BEAT HIM UP
WERE THEY IDENTIFIED
WERE THEY CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER
October 21, 2011 at 3:20 pm
petebrook
The assailants went to trial and I believe they served prison time.
March 4, 2012 at 5:44 am
Diva Avatar
Summerville, grow up! There are a lot of us that grow up with alcoholic parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and siblings and we end up dating alcoholics yet some how we know that we do not want to become one or to marry one and we learn to be responsible for ourselves! STOP BLAMING ALCOHOLICS FOR ALL OF YOUR ISSUES! THAT IS WHAT ALCOHOLICS DO! You may not drink dear but you are a dry drunk. You sound like a judgmental miserable person. I feel sorry for you. No one deserves to be beat up like that. My little brother was an alcoholic too and it was because he struggled with being gay. He was ashamed that he was attracted to men. He did not act on his feelings because he was so ashamed. He died from his alcoholism. He drank himself to death. My brother could never do enough for anyone, he was the most kind, generous soul that I ever knew. So you are quite wrong in saying that all alcoholics are selfish people and worthless. Maybe your parents were that way. I have known quite a few alcoholics and most of them have been very sensitive people that do not know how to cope. They are not being selfish on purpose. It’s all in how you look at it. You have to realize that they have a problem. I still have trouble with calling it an illness but then again maybe it is and I was the lucky one that did not get the alcohol gene. Only God knows for sure and it is not my place to judge. It is my place not to enable a drunks poor behavior and to be compassionate and show tough love. I suggest that you seek counseling and if you are in counseling now, get a new counselor. You are a very angry person. This man was beat up because the 5 boys had a problem with Mark being a cross dresser (which there is nothing wrong with..women wear men’s clothes, t-shirts, jeans all the time). This is America, the land of the FREE where 6 lives were ruined by 5 cowards that did not appreciate what America stands for…The Freedom to be ourselves. I think that all the hate and anger in this country is more screwed up than a single man in a bar that was obviously being a happy drunk if he was talking about being a cross dresser, something that made him happy. There are too many angry people out there like the guys that beat him up, maybe their parents were alkies too, does that give them the right to kill someone or disable someone?
June 11, 2012 at 10:16 pm
susan arnott
Well Mark, what an awesome doco. enjoyed it very much.. you are a very knowledgeable man… good luck
January 27, 2014 at 1:14 am
Joe Andolina
I think the great part of the life of Mark is that even though he was nearly beaten to death, the transformation he made as a person from the results of a near tragedy is a miracle. Even though we don;t ever get to see the old Mark though this excellent documentary, through some of the backstory given us about his life before the vicious attack, we now see before us a gentle soul who is more than likely a far better person than the person he once was.