The new promotional film for Stockholm by the illusionist Charlie Caper is a jaw-dropping experience. Sitting behind a table with the Swedish capital in the background, the magician performs the most amazing card tricks to illustrate one message: the success of Stockholm “is not a coincidence”.
The video went viral and has already more than half a million views on Youtube.
Among the film´s supporters was British comedian and writer Stephen Fry who expressed his feelings after watching the act: “Goodness!”.
“The response has been incredible,” said Caper. “Maybe the most exciting thing is that Stephen Fry tweeted about us, so just knowing he saw it makes us giddy.”
What’s the main message in the film?
“We bring up interesting everyday benefits of living in Stockholm which people might not know about. Our hope is that by showing a lot of different facts some of Stockholm soul will shine through the whole film. We wanted the audience to see the beautiful, modern and welcoming city it is.”
The film was commissioned by the Stockholm Business Region. It’s the third magic film for the Swedish capital by Charlie Caper and his partner Erik Rosales.
In 2013, a video for Stockholm which featured a dazzling demonstration of how iPads can be used became a huge hit online, amassing 3.3 million views on YouTube. It got awarded as best viral campaign 2012 during Digital Communication Awards in Berlin.
How long did it take to prepare the act?
“All in all it took about a month of hard work. More than half of those hours were research and writing. I’ve held a deck of cards in my hand with deceitful intent for 25 years so the magic was a fun and difficult creative exercise but not the biggest concern,” he said. “I can perform the whole act live but it took 8-10 takes before we had one where I was happy. Performing live a few small errors somewhere wouldn’t matter, but for film everything has to be near perfect.”
Watch the film here.