2023 Filmmaker in Residence
When a filmmaker marries a former child magician, she finds herself entering an eccentric family of performers and illusionists. She soon learns that her charismatic new in-laws secretly ran a burlesque theater in Detroit for fifty years and sets out to make a film about them. As she and her husband search for information about the theater they uncover a hidden trove of films, photographs, and audiotapes that span nearly a century, but also unwittingly open a Pandora's box of deeply buried family secrets that begin to blur the line between fact and fiction.
Leigh Jurecka is a Canadian independent filmmaker and educator whose work has been screened in festivals throughout North America. Jurecka produced the feature documentary Free Havana(released by Facets) and is a fellow of Kartemquin Films’ Diverse Voices in Docs mentorship program. She received her BA in Philosophy from Bishop’s University and her MFA in Film from Northwestern University. She lives and works in Chicago, IL.
Project description and bios courtesy of the Resident