We catch up with House of Gül’s founder and creative director to discuss how he’s been merging the studio with his artistic practice and seeking out more meaningful projects.
When Portland filmmaker Ali Godil was working on his short film, the close-to-home Americanistan, he didn’t expect to immortalize the final days of one of the area’s most iconic institutions: a McDonald's on Swan Island. “We filmed out front, the workers didn’t care,” Godil told the Mercury. “A month later that McDonald’s shut down.” The front of a McDonald's may not sound like the most exciting place for a shoot, but Godil said he choose.