As one walks through the streets of Philadelphia, he or she can’t help but notice the stunning and original mosaic murals peppering the city walls, particularly around the traditionally bohemian neighborhood of South Street. These murals — maximalist splendors of tiles, shards of mirror, . . . . . . . assorted “sampled words”, and art culled from other traditions (Indian, Mexican) — are all crafted passionately by Isaiah Zagar, the Gaudi of United States and the subject of Jeremiah Zagar’s (his son) astoundingly good documentary IN A DREAM. IndiePix is releasing IN A DREAM, the dramatic story of Isaiah, his art, marriage, and family,theatrically through June. After a successful weekend at Cinema Village in New York (so much that the film got extended into a second week), IN A DREAM opened to its hometown crowd last Friday, at Philadelphia’s Ritz at the Bourse. The press leading up was incredible; a cover page photo, full-page article, and 5-star review in the Metro Weekend section, raves in the Philadelphia Inquirer and other local papers, and an hour-long interview with the Zagar family on NPR. Walking around the neighborhood where Jeremiah grew up, I felt like I was with both a national celebrity and a local staple (there were those who saw him grow up “Jeremiah was the first busboy in my restaurant” and those who just read about it “Hey man, I saw you in the paper yesterday; Great article!”). The support was unending and inspiring. Jeremiah’s family joined him for the Q and A after the Friday screening at 7:20 pm (sold out) and the intro to the 9:35 screening (also sold out). At the afterparty, I got an even better sense of just how supportive the Philadelphia art scene is. The whole time I was thinking – and I know this is cheesy but.. . . — that the city’s slogan “The City of Brotherly Love” is really REALLY accurate. Maybe it’s just the warmth of Jeremiah, his remarkable family, and the people that such amazing humans attract, but the heart and emotion in the music seemed to seep out of the celluloid, out of the mosaics, and into the city itself. Or maybe the warmth of the city seeps into the art and the film about the art. During the rest of the weekend, it was more love in Philadelphia – a party at the Magic Garden, walks through the Italian Market and historic town, drinks at the City Tavern, a walk through Julia Zagar’s Eyes Gallery – and more love for IN A DREAM. (More PACKED shows and another week’s extension). I would encourage everyone not only to see the breathtaking film, but to visit Philly and the Magic Garden to actually experience the gigantic mosaics that grew as the relationships in the film, and the film itself, grew. After seeing a film about love being a work of art, there is no better way to merge art and life. A map of all of Zagar’s murals is available here.