Jeremiah Zagar Jeremiah Zagar (; born 1980 or 1981) is an American filmmaker. He has directed the feature films '' We the Animals'' (2018) and '' Hustle'' (2022). The former was nominated for five categories at the 34th Independent Spirit Awards. He also direct ...
that premiered on March 9, 2008, at the
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
film festival. Its broadcast premiere was August 19, 2009 on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
.
Synopsis
''In a Dream'' is a documentary about
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
-based artist Isaiah Zagar that was filmed and directed by his son, Jeremiah. Isaiah is famous for his complex, highly detailed
mosaics
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
, which cover of
South Philly
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.8 mm,
16 mm
16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, edu ...
and
35 mm 35 mm may refer to:
* 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film
* 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock
* 35MM 35 mm may refer to:
* 135 film, a type of still photography format ...
as well as
high definition
High definition or HD may refer to:
Visual technologies
*HD DVD, discontinued optical disc format
*HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format
*HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tape
* HiDef, 24 frames-pe ...
and
digital video
Digital video is an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data. This is in contrast to analog video, which represents moving visual images in the form of analog signals. Digital video comprises ...
.
Soundtrack
''In A Dream'' features music by
The Books
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
Efterklang
Efterklang () is a Danish indie rock group from Copenhagen, formed in December 2000. The band has recorded five studio albums and are currently signed to the 4AD label, as well as their own record label Rumraket.
In 2012, they released their f ...
,
Colleen
Colleen is an Irish language name and is of Irish origin and a generic term for women or girls, from the Irish '' cailín'' 'girl/woman', the diminutive of '' caile'' 'woman, countrywoman'.
Although it originates in the Irish language, Colleen ...
,
Bibio
Stephen James Wilkinson (born 4 December 1978), better known as Bibio, is an English musician and producer. He is known for a distinct analog Lo-fi music, lo-fi sound, and for working in a diverse range of genres, beginning in folktronica and ...
and an original score by
Kelli Scarr
Kelli Scarr is an American singer and songwriter. She sang vocals on Moby's album '' Wait for Me'', as well as collaborating with him on National Public Radio's "Project Song", resulting in the track "Gone to Sleep".National Public Radio. "Moby ...
.
Reception
''In A Dream'' emerged on the film festival circuit in 2008 and quickly won a variety of awards:
* SXSW Film Festival: Emerging Visions Audience Award
*
Woodstock Film Festival
The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto with the goal to bring high quality independent film to the Hudson Valley region. The festival takes place each fa ...
Philadelphia Film Festival
The Philadelphia Film Festival is a film festival founded by the Philadelphia Film Society held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The annual festival is held at various theater venues throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area.
Overview
The annual f ...
Salem Film Festival
Salem may refer to: Places
Canada
Ontario
* Bruce County
** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie
** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce
* Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...
: Jury Award for Best Documentary
Reviews
"Bursting with vivid home movies and loving appreciations of Isaiah's 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."
- Nathan Lee, ''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 father's creative logic to cheat us with artless hagiography. In dreamily paced tracking shots, macro close-ups, time-lapse glimpses of Isaiah's processes, archival footage, and animation, ''In a Dream'' exhibits as much beauty and sensuality as Isaiah's 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 father's art becomes an unintended record of an American family's 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 director's 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 Zagar's 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."
- Joe Neumaier, ''NY Daily News''
"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. Isn't 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''