A ten-gallon hat floating in the ocean and psychedelically patterned polypropylene western wear wandering empty hotel halls might not seem like images from a documentary about the changing nature of American commerce, but those costumes define the dreams at the heart of Emily Mackenzie and Noah Collier’s Carpet Cowboys. After becoming obsessed with the seemingly drug-induced carpet designs lining every banal conference room and casino floor in the United States, Mackenzie and Collier stumbled upon Dalton, GA, known then as the “Carpet Capital of the World.” The pair went in, Mackenzie holding the boom and Collier the camera, with little […]
by Alex Lei on Aug 25, 2023Having its world premiere at the inaugural edition of the New/Next Film Festival in Baltimore later this month, a trailer arrives for Carpet Cowboys, the feature debut of co-directors Emily MacKenzie and Noah Collier. The doc, executive produced by John Wilson (who appeared on our 25 New Faces of Film list in 2016 before embarking on his excellent How To HBO series, which just kicked off its third and final season) and released by MEMORY, takes a sprawling look at the “Carpet Capital of the World” located in Dalton, Georgia before tackling a worldwide exploration of expat culture and American […]
by Natalia Keogan on Aug 2, 2023Filmmaker Emily MacKenzie is currently on Kickstarter with her documentary Scar Story, about Paulette Leaphart, who survived breast cancer following a double mastectomy, and who will be raising awareness by walking topless from Biloxi, MS to Washington, D.C. MacKenzie, producer Sasha Solodukhina and their crew will be traveling along with her, and they are now in the final nine days of their campaign to raise production funds. Below, MacKenzie shares a letter she has written to her crew — and partly to herself — about the challenges that lie ahead. Consider donating here at Kickstarter. To my crew – I […]
by Emily MacKenzie on Apr 25, 2016