General Magic is available to watch on VOD platforms worldwide.
Learn MoreLearn MoreHost a private screening of General Magic for your organization paired with live panels and team-building workshops.
Learn MoreGet a custom quoteGeneral Magic tells the tale of how a great vision and an epic failure changed the lives of billions.
Produced and directed by the Emmy nominated Sarah Kerruish and Matt Maude, this award winning documentary features legendary members of the original Macintosh team alongside young, future creators, all who brought us the technologies we rely on today.
In 1990, at a secretive Silicon Valley startup, a small and passionate group of engineers and visionaries formed one of history’s greatest tech teams to build a magical device that would enable anyone to connect everyone, everywhere to everything. In 1994, General Magic shipped it’s handheld personal communicator - the world’s first Smartphone, built upon the core technologies and ideas that dominate our lives today.
The film weaves rare archival footage of the company’s inspirational birth, grave betrayal, and devastating collapse with contemporary, honest, and powerful insights from the “Magicians” today as they reflect on the most influential Silicon Valley company no one has ever heard of.
Our workshop series offers a unique opportunity to learn from the triumphs and failures of the General Magic team and apply those lessons to your product development, team building, and approach to failure and resiliency in entrepreneurship. See unseen footage from the film and have a chance to meet the filmmakers.
Former General Magic employees are available to speak upon request.
In October 2022, Santa Clara University's Ciocca Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship brought the film to campus for an outdoor screening under the stars, a live Q&A and a half-day workshop titled “General Magic: Failure is the Beginning".
Featuring filmmakers and Magicians, panels are custom designed to touch on themes that resonate uniquely with each audience. Viewers will be able to share their reflections and ask questions.
Share the film with your team in person, or with a remote private screenings via a live virtual watch party or a limited window to stream on-demand.
Please contact us for more information about how to host a private screening, panel or team building workshop.
Quote form“A rippling standing ovation followed the film. We Estonians are typically straight faced as people, resistant to emotion or expression in public, but the film resonated something deep within our audience.
“My hope and dream is that General Magic elevates the purpose of each Town employee.”
The compelling story of General Magic shows the powerful value that lies in failure, perseverance and teamwork amongst other empowering themes. Teams and groups will find inspiration in this legendary piece of history.
Produced and directed by the Emmy nominated Sarah Kerruish and Matt Maude, this award winning documentary features legendary members of the original Macintosh team alongside young, future creators, all who brought us the technologies we rely on today.
Michael Stern has practiced law in Silicon Valley for 35 years. He has worked with General Magic, Pixar, Adobe, NeXT, and eBay. His varied background as an English professor, journalist, and Dickens scholar led to the story development of the General Magic documentary.
“Working at General Magic was an all-consuming, life-changing experience for me. The company was full of the smartest and most creative people I had ever known. It was a story that cried out to be told.”
Matt is a multi award winning director, writer, cinematographer and producer. At the Tribeca Film Festival, he was nominated for the Best New Director Award.
“There was this amazing moment reviewing the archival film, seeing all these young people sitting on the floor of a tiny office … the people who made the iPod, Nest, Android, eBay, the emoticon, the touch screen, the modem, tools we can’t imagine living without today.”
Sarah, a Peabody Award winner and Emmy nominee, was part of the original documentary crew at General Magic. She currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Kheiron Medical, dedicated to the detection and treatment of breast cancer using AI.
“Our hope is that this film will inspire the next generation of technologists and makers to learn from those who have gone before them and apply the lessons of General Magic to solving the most important problems of our day.”
After successfully producing a red carpet premiere in Silicon Valley for the Magicians, their families, and colleagues, Veronica joined the General Magic team in 2018 to lead the distribution and impact strategy for the film. Her background as a filmmaker and event producer fuels her passion for creating memorable film exhibition experiences. She oversees the development of the film’s private screening events and works directly with clients.
Host a private screening of General Magic for your organization paired with live panels and team-building workshops.
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