In A Dream Blog

Philadelphia City Paper gives In A Dream some love in their annual Awards issue:

Jeremiah Zagar’s documentary In a Dream could have been mere fluff. Or worse, exploitation. Zagar set out to film his father, Isaiah, as he made the beautiful, cryptic mosaics that draw tourists to South Street by the busload. But confronted with Isaiah’s reminiscences of abuse, brother Ezekiel’s rehab stint and the betrayal that tore his parents apart, Zagar kept going and made something lovely and loving from the shards. —M.J. Fine

Tickets are on sale for In A Dream’s two screenings next month at the Woodstock Film Festival. Dates and times are as follows:

October 3rd, 7pm, Upstate Films II
October 5th, 11:15am, Woodstock Town Hall

Buy Tickets!

An in-depth interview with Jeremiah Zagar about In A Dream is up @ Wild Violet—a quarterly literary magazine.

An excerpt:

Did it ever lead to any difficulties with your family or especially with your brother? When I think about how you captured him at a point — it almost might have not been a point when he would have been particularly proud of what was going on.

Yes, I think it could have in a different family, but not in ours. In our family, they’re so open and it’s what they believe in, you know? Their belief system is grounded in this idea of art for public consumption. They don’t believe in having secrets. They don’t believe in hiding. Like, even if my brother felt uncomfortable about it at first, or ever, that changed, because ultimately his belief system is grounded in the idea of exposure, of being transparent. I think transparency is a really, really important thing, in culture. I think it’s something that we don’t see as important or really value, but it should be valued. Secrets are what destroy people. I think that’s part of the message of the movie: when my father kept secrets that’s when the family fell apart.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

In A Dream @ The Troc

In A Dream will be screening this coming Monday night, September 8th at the famed Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia.

$3.00 gets you in & goes towards a drink or snack of your choice
SHOWTIME: 7:30pm
Doors @ 6:30pm – 21+ ID REQ

Free prize raffle courtesy of

Next Monday is Old School so we’re in good company.

Isaiah Zagar from IN A DREAM

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be announcing screenings in Upstate New York, Oregon, San Francisco, Delaware, North Carolina, Toronto and England. Check back regularly for details.

In the meantime, catch up on some reviews from film festivals past:

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Mixing old home movies, wonderful animated sequences derived from Isaiah’s art, and scenes of Isaiah at work, of Julia in agony, and of their eldest son, Zeke, grappling with his own demons, In a Dream captures a family imploding. Their lives are laid bare, in broken bits, like the ceramic that Isaiah uses for his art, and they come together in In a Dream with sadness and beauty, rage and insight.

Philadelphia Weekly

Hardly of interest only to locals, Zagar’s film on his father Isaiah – the artist responsible for the city’s ubiquitous and otherworldly mosaic murals – is a work of art itself.

Austin Daze

The beauty and brilliance of Isaiah’s mosaics is matched by the film’s vibrant color and brilliant editing and music. This film touched me on such a personal level, taking me on a journey into my own human condition while inspiring the creative within and leaving me with a renewed passion for life. The film has won in the Emerging Visions category at this year’s festival and is the best film I have seen.

Hammer To Nail

Because the family decided to cooperate, and fully open themselves up, we are treated to an amazingly intimate portrait of a unique family struggling to make sense of life’s cruel twists.

Film Connection

Intimacy and emotion spill onto the screen – the art is brilliant and the musical score by The Books only adds to the film’s surreal, raw experience.

Agnes Varnum

What follows for the Zagars is not only a testament to the power of love but also a heart-wrenching tale about a family in crisis. For my technically savvy readers, Jeremiah employed a variety of stocks, including 35mm, to create a complicated visual tapestry that matches the complicated artwork and emotions of the story.