Next week marks the world premiere of Tongal’s feature-length documentary film, Mole Man, at DOC NYC. The film screens on Friday, November 10 at 7:30 PM at Cinepolis Chelsea and Monday, November 13 at 12:15 PM at the IFC Center.
Mole Man is one of the first Projects of its kind to be produced on Tongal’s platform, and is a testament to our creative community’s limitless potential to develop and produce content of any length, for any medium.
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Mole Man follows Ron Heist, a 66-year-old man on the autism spectrum, who is part of the “Lost Generation” of older adults who were never officially diagnosed, as he faces losing the only home he’s ever known: a remarkable maze-like structure he built in his backyard over five decades. It explores what a mind like his is capable of in the absence of therapy or a push to conform to mainstream society. The film is directed by Tongaler and documentary series director, Guy Fiorita, (American Restoration, Pawn Stars), who first met Ron on an episode of American Pickers.
The wheels were set in motion for the White Horse Documentary Project when White Horse Pictures, the producing powerhouse behind the Emmy- and Grammy-winning The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years directed by Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese’s Emmy-winning documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, and the Grammy-winning Foo Fighters: Back and Forth, came to Tongal in search of their next big documentary subject. They leveraged Tongal’s more than 120,000 creators to find a unique and compelling story. During this process, media production and financing firm, Archer Gray, also signed on to co-produce as part of their new documentary initiative.
Speaking to the impact this opportunity had on Tongal’s creative community, James DeJulio, Tongal’s Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer said, “Tongal’s ability to discover and share incredible stories like Mole Man is why we believe so strongly in our model and the passion of our community. Guy Fiorita dedicated years to making this film and we are proud to have helped develop it and give him a platform to elevate diverse voices. Our esteemed collaborators speak to the importance of this story and the power of embracing new ideas and talent, and we are so excited to sit alongside them at the world premiere at DOC NYC."
At Tongal, we’re constantly working to bring more opportunities like this to our creative community. We’ll continue to update you on Mole Man throughout its festival journey through our Facebook Page.
A final shoutout is in order for Tongal’s SVP of Creative Strategy, Caleb Light-Wills, VP of Production, Lesley Worton, and VP of Community, Ingrid Vining, for helping every step of the way to bring this Project to life.
