It's hard to love a professional trickster but you may feel differently after this doc. Filmed over four years, it pulls back the velvet curtain, not to give away trade secrets (you may pick up a few hints), but to introduce us to four magicians at different stages of their lives and careers, strip away the mystique and reveal the dedicated, hard-working dreamers they really are.

Jon Armstrong is a self-described geek, a true master of close-up magic who still has to hustle like a latterday Willy Loman. That's also Brian Gillis's bag, but "Johnny Carson's favorite magician" is finding it harder to pay the bills these days, and doesn't have the repertoire to reinvent himself. David Minkin is still on the up, an illusionist breaking into TV. And Jan Rouven (who lives with his manager, Frank Alfter) headlines his own death-defying spectacular on the Sunset Strip. They all communicate their love for their art, but this fascinating film isn't likely to inspire a surge in competition: it's an impossible gig, only natural-born magicians need apply. 

Marcie Hume – Director

Christoph Baaden – Director