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Magic Thinking is a multi-platform film installation steeped in the current moment when climate catastrophe, the COVID pandemic, and the rise of fundamentalism combine to contribute to an apocalyptic aura. With this aura, magical thinking can become a survival strategy, creating surprising bedfellows. In particular, the confluence of far-right extremism and the “wellness” world. Magic Thinking follows the relationship between Doug (Becca Blackwell), a human optimizer, and Nancy (Laine Rettmer), a meditation class teacher, as they grasp for certainty in the face of unrest. Their spiritual journey is tainted by hyper-masculine self help gurus, burned-out ex-climate activists, psychedelic-pushing big tech entrepreneurs, and viciously Darwin-obsessed wellness influencers. As they search for “Truth” the limits of self-actualization become increasingly clear. (Laura Parnes, USA, 2026, 76 min.)
Followed by a conversation with filmmaker Laura Parnes
Laura Parnes’ critically acclaimed films and installations fuse comedy with pathos to probe social and political trauma. Informed by traditions and genres in narrative film, video art and queer theater, her work blurs the lines between conventions of storytelling and experimentation. The performers in her projects are often part of a diverse community of artists and musicians, many of whom are responsible for the rich underground scene in
NYC – and who have shaped and aYected other mainstream art cultures.
She has screened and exhibited widely in the US and internationally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY; MoMA PS1,NY; Miami Museum of Contemporary Art, FL; Brooklyn Museum; Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens; The International Film Festival Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands; and Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; and NY and on PBS and Spanish Television. She had solo exhibitions at Pioneer Works, Human Resources, Burchfield Penny Art Center, LA><, Participant Inc., Deitch Projects, Fitzroy Gallery; and solo screenings at the Wexner Center for the Arts, The Museum of Modern Art, and The Kitchen, New York City. Parnes is a 2013 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellow and a 2016 Creative Capital Awardee. Video Data Bank published a box set of her work, and Participant Press published a book of her scripts titled Blood and Guts in Hollywood: Two Screenplays’ by Laura Parnes with an introduction by Chris Kraus. She has also directed music videos for The Julie Ruin and Le Tigre. Her 1997 film No is Yes is a viral sensation, seen by hundreds of thousands of people.
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800 Mifflin St, Philadelphia, PA 19148-16ND, United States
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