In 2011, I wrote about an extraordinary town that was built through the sheer will and imagination of of a former US Navy Serviceman as part of his therapy. Comprised mainly of 1/6 figures the town is a fictional town called “Marwencol” set in World War II Belgium, the story about the man and this town will soon become a full blown movie later this year starring Academy Award Nominee Steve Carell and directed by “Forrest Gump” director, Robert Zemeckis.

Mark Hogancamp was attacked by five men in 2000 that for 9 days he was in a coma in which he lost a great portion of his memory.  It was a hate crime as he remembers that he said he was a cross dresser before he was attacked. He was initially supported by the State Government of New York for his rehabilitation until the support ended. He was an amateur artist and he decided to take his own rehabilitation by creating a miniature town with his own story as "Hogie".

Marwencol was a town besieged by the Nazis but at certain areas, the Nazis and the Allies have to mingle and they have to be friends while inside the town. There are a lot of angles and rules in Marwencol with Hogecamp being the main character. The initial civility between the protaganists soon started to become violent as there we gunfights and kidnappings, Hogie himself was assassinated but then brought to life by a witch. The Nazis are always looking for opportunities to capture Marwencol. They have tortured Hogie but he was rescued by three women from the town.

Marwencol was turned into a documentary by Jeff Malmberg in 2010 and has won in prestigious film festivals.  As to the “Welcome to Marwen” movie, there was no mention on how the Dreamworks Pictures decided to turn this into a full blown movie as based on the documentary. The cast is comprised of Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Diane Kruger, Merritt Wever, Janelle Monáe, Eiza González, Gwendoline Christie, Leslie Zemeckis, and Neil Jackson. Steve Carell will play the role of Hogancamp who is the main character in the Movie.

The movie brings to life the 1/6 characters of Marwencol as imagined by Hogencamp with him being protected by the women of the town who in the movie are based on people he knows in real life.

“Welcome to Marwen” will be released on 21 November 2018 in the United States and will be distributed by Universal Pictures. Below is the official trailer.