Director: Jon Ornoy
Card magic rarely gets its own feature-length showcase, but this documentary sets out to prove that a simple fifty-two card deck can carry an entire art form built on decades of obsessive practice.
What is Lost In The Shuffle about?
Centered on two-time world champion Shawn Farquhar, the film follows him and a small circle of fellow specialists — including Spanish sleight-of-hand veteran Juan Tamariz and gambling-technique expert Richard Turner — as they discuss how cardistry and card magic developed as a distinct discipline separate from stage illusion. Interviews trace the discipline back through generations of performers, showing how techniques passed hand to hand rather than through formal schools, and how competitive circuits and online video eventually pushed a niche craft into wider public view. The film also spends time on the physical toll of the practice, with performers describing repetitive strain and years spent refining a single move, grounding the wonder of the tricks in the discipline required to produce them.
Cast & crew
Shawn Farquhar anchors the film as its central figure, with Juan Tamariz and Richard Turner offering contrasting styles — theatrical flourish versus technical precision — while Michael Vincent and card-magic historian Alexandra Duvivier add context on the craft's competitive and historical sides.
Context & significance
Director Jon Ornoy filmed across multiple countries to capture the international scope of competitive card magic, including footage from championship events where performers are judged on technical difficulty as much as showmanship. The documentary situates its subjects within a broader magic community that rarely receives feature-film treatment, positioning card work as a specialization worth its own record. It also traces how a handful of instructional videos and small competitive gatherings decades ago quietly grew into an international circuit with its own rankings and reputations.
Where & how to watch
The documentary is available on K-Time with Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, so it can be followed in Farsi from start to finish or with the original English audio and Farsi text. Watching only requires a free K-Time account, and the site's navigation is built in Farsi for Persian-speaking viewers wherever they're based.