Jon Brunelle will present a brief history of the craft of illusory magic together with a sleight-of-hand demonstration, while taking a look at how magicians’ control of information and secrecy has changed over time. Jon practiced sleight-of-hand magic professionally during the 1970’s and ’80s, winning First Prize in a national close-up magic competition held by the Society of American Magicians in 1978. During his later career, he presented satiric slideshow lectures in collaboration with New York’s electronic music and video artists. His solo show, Better Love Through Surveillance, had successful stagings in downtown New York theaters during the 2010’s. Jon is retired and lives full-time in Norfolk.

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The dramatic story of Dan Rather and his CBS News team’s courageous coverage of the Tiananmen Square uprising and subsequent crackdown represents a pinnacle in television news’ ability to provide live reporting of unfolding events on the world stage. Although CBS News delved into the Tiananmen Square story without hesitation, it was the obvious bravery of the Chinese student leaders in the face of their government’s growing impatience that grabbed the world’s attention. This film will be introduced by its director, Bestor Cram.

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Coming to Light tells the dramatic story of Edward S. Curtis, a complicated, passionate, self-educated pioneer and visionary artist who set out in 1900 to document traditional Native American life before it was gone. He created an astonishing body of work: thousands of wax recordings, a full length motion picture with Kwakiutl people, twenty volumes of text, and forty thousand photographs. The film explores the often controversial nature of Curtis’ romantic images, and the meaning they have for Native Americans today. In the documentary, Hopi, Navajo, Cupig, Blackfeet, Piegan, Crow, Suquamish, Kwakiutl and Gros Ventre people, descendants of Curtis’ photographic subjects, tell stories about the people in the pictures, and describe ways in which they are using the photographs to revive their own traditions in the modern world. The film will be introduced by director Anne Makepeace.

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Imagine a scene never before witnessed: sixteen French pastry chefs gathered in Lyon for three intense days of mixing, piping, and sculpting everything from delicate chocolates to six-foot sugar sculptures in hopes of being declared by President Nicolas Sarkozy one of the best. This is the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France competition (Best Craftsmen in France). The blue, white and red striped collar worn on the jackets of the winners is more than the ultimate recognition for every pastry chef – it is a dream and an obsession. Filmmakers D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus secured exclusive access to shoot this epic, never-before-filmed test of France’s finest artisans. The film will be introduced by its producer Flora Lazar.

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Rooted in tradition with an ear toward the future, contemporary folk duo Rakish embody earnest musical exploration and an infectious playfulness in their music. Fiddler Maura Shawn Scanlin, acclaimed for her expressive playing, was raised in North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains. Her songwriting and clawhammer banjo technique hint at regional old-time ballads. Further north, guitarist Conor Hearn grew up steeped in the venerated Washington, D.C. Irish music scene and developed a keen interest in literature and poetry. The pair’s deep musical connection and unbridled love for pushing traditional sounds forward is striking. They refuse to be pigeonholed into one genre and are most comfortable occupying the in-between as they journey through Celtic and Americana styles, deftly showcasing how to bring forth something new from the deep well of tradition.

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