Tomas is a little bit too old to still be living with his parents, but his dream of becoming a magician leaves him with no other option. Sundance Programming Notes: The whole concept of Instead of Abracadabra took place after director Patrik Eklund cut a showreel for a local magician, which included four hours of materials and some obligatory bloopers. "You could really feel the panic when something went wrong and how he acted to cover things up again," says Eklund. "I felt I just had to do something that had the same sort of nerve." Two versions of the script later (one dramatic attempt, one comedic that finally stuck), an impressively short four-day shoot, and a full month of editing, the short has seen much praise, due in part to the combined talents of Eklund, producer Mathias Fjellström, cinematographer David Grehn and a handful of really great performers. This is one of the finest and funniest films in the roster, and it makes us all appreciate the art of magic just a little bit more.