The Amazing Johnathan @ SFJFF
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DocFilm is pleased to co-present The Amazing Johnathan Documentary at the 39th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (July 18 – August 4, 2018). This entertaining and provocative meta-documentary is a portrait of Las Vegas magician and stand-up comic John Szeles, or the Amazing Johnathan. What begins as a documentary about Johnathan becomes a story about the unravelling of his documentarian and an exploration of truth versus illusion. Click here to purchase tickets.
SYNOPSIS:
It begins as a documentary about “The Amazing Johnathan,” a uniquely deranged magician who built a career out of shock and deception in the 1980s—but becomes a bizarre story about the unravelling of his documentarian. After Johnathan is diagnosed with a terminal heart condition and given one year to live, he’s forced to retire his act. Cut to three years later: Johnathan is not dead, much to everyone’s amazement, and documentarian Ben Berman films the illusionist on an epic comeback tour. But as their mutual journey kicks off, Johnathan drops a bombshell that sends the film spiraling into uncertainty. Embracing this unforeseen obstacle, Ben delves deeper to determine what is truth and what is illusion.