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In the vibrant, bohemian neighborhood of South Philadelphia, 50,000-square feet of concrete are covered with tile and mirrorsmosaics that were created by renowned artist Isaiah Zagar. The murals chronicle his love for his wife, Julia, and subtly hint at the darker corners of an extraordinary imagination. Where Isaiah is an obsessive and self-absorbed former Peace Corps volunteer who has become an icon in South Philly's art community, Julia is gracious and warm. For decades, their opposing natures complemented one another perfectly. But, in a moment of great stress, just before picking up their oldest son from a rehabilitation center, the family implodes. Isaiah confesses to an affair with his assistant, is kicked out of the house, and spirals into a debilitating nervous breakdown. A fascinating portrait of love and betrayal, artistic invention, and the enduring power of family bonds. Winner of awards far and wide, the film features music by The Books, Explosions in the Sky, Efterklang, and Kelli Scarr. 
"In a Dream abounds in visual pleasure." -The New York Times 
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Reviews
 | "The result is a documentary that is rare in the way that it leads us deep into the emotions and turmoil of a family over the course of several years. Their journey stands as an example of how it is possible for a family to exist and grow together, across many years and problems. Isnt it strange that this offbeat freaky hippie family turns out in the end to fully embody the conservative family-value ideal? " --Mike S. Ryan, Hammer To Nail |
"Bursting with vivid home movies and loving appreciations of Isaiahs artwork frenzied drawings and monumental mosaics in tile and mirror, many of which now beautify his Philadelphia neighborhood In a Dream abounds in visual pleasure." -- The New York Times
"Where most documentarians would rest on the laurels of a great subject and riveting present-tense drama, director Jeremiah Zagar has observed too much of his fathers creative logic to cheat us with artless hagiography. In dreamily paced tracking shots, macro close-ups, time-lapse glimpses of Isaiahs processes, archival footage, and animation, In a Dream exhibits as much beauty and sensuality as Isaiahs work, while the unabashedly personal nature of the filmmaker-subject dynamic is as candid about familial madness as Tarnation, and captures more insight than those Friedmans did." - Aaron Hillis, The Village Voice
"What began as a look at a fathers art becomes an unintended record of an American familys dissolution in director Jeremiah Zagars lovingly made, clear-eyed documentary. Though Isaiah Zagar is a devoted dad and talented artist, his inner life is as splintered as his mosaic tile creations. After raising two sons we see one, the directors brother, in the midst of drug rehab Isaiah begins a relationship with his assistant as his astounded wife tries to figure out her increasingly idiosyncratic husband. The power of Zagars camera also prompts his dad to drudge up painful childhood memories and wonder where his life is headed. Even in an era of 24-hour confessional TV, this look into complex emotions is gripping." --NY Daily News
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