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Film Tue Jul 14 2015
Documentary Peeks Inside Ash's Magic Shop
Freelance writer and documentarian (and past GB contributor) Brian Gersten takes you inside Ash's Magic Shop, one of the few remaining magic shops in the city, in his new documentary The Amazing Mr. Ash.
Gersten shared how the documentary came to be:
There are certain locations or places that demand our attention whenever we see them. They call out to us. They seduce us like a mythological siren. Whatever the reason may be, there seems to be specific locations that remain with us in our lives. For me, Ash's Magic Shop is one of those places.
Like many Chicagoans, I have driven past the corner of Argyle and Western Avenue countless times. It's a stretch of road that has been etched into my brain since childhood. While the majority of the neighborhood is made up of residential buildings with neutral colors, there is one shop that sticks out like a bloody thumb. The bright red façade of Ash's Magic Shop screams out for attention.
After years of passing by the shop, I grew curious. Who was this Ash character? What kinds of things did he sell in his shop? What was his story? One day I decided I would investigate. I parked the car and journeyed inside the shop. My brief visit ultimately turned into a year-long documentary odyssey with the famous Mr. Ash.
See more of Gersten's work on Vimeo and his website.