General Magic
Synopsis
Spun out from Apple in 1990 to create the ‘next big thing’, the ideas that now dominate the tech industry and our day-to-day lives were born at General Magic. The first smartphones. Social media. E-commerce. Even the beloved emoji. But this was before the web, before 3G, before Google, before everyone had a mobile phone in their pocket. The world was not ready in 1994 to hold the world in its hands. And though General Magic died, those concepts and the people who pioneered them went on to change almost everything.
Combining rare archive footage with contemporary stories of the Magicians today, this documentary tracks the progress of anytime, anywhere communication from a thing of sci-fi fiction in 1994 to a reality in our pockets and on our wrists today.
With members of the original Mac team and the creators of the iPhone, Android, eBay and more, this is the story of one of history’s most talented teams and what happens when those who dream big fail, fail again, fail better and ultimately succeed.
Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2018 - Spotlight Documentary - World premiere
Details
- Year
- 2018
- Type of film
- Features
- Running time
- 90 mins
- Format
- Digital
- Director
-
Sarah Kerruish, Matt Maude 1st Feature
- Producer
- Sarah Kerruish, Matt Maude
- Executive Producer
- Reynold D'Silva, John Giannadrea, Michael Stern
- Editor
- Claire Ferguson, Anna Meller
- Screenwriter
- Sarah Kerruish, Jonathan Key, Matt Maude, Michael Stern, Ceri Tallett
- Director of Photography
- Jay Maude, Matt Maude
- Sound
- Alastair Sirkitt
- Composer
- Benji Merrison, Martin Phipps
- Principal cast
- Tony Fadell, Marc Porat, Megan Smith
- Film Image
- © Spellbound II Productions
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
US, UK coproduction
Spellbound II Productions (US), Left Eye Blind Productions (UK)
Left Eye Blind Productions
Matt Maude113 Hackney Downs Studios
London
E8 2BT
Sales Company
Cinetic Media
555 W. 25th Street, 4th FloorNew York
NY 10001
Page updates
This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
See also
You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Director: Hannah Berryman
Year: 2024
A landmark feature documentary about astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle. Eileen’s incredible journey starts with her smalltown beginnings, sees her smash through many glass ceilings, and culminates in four dramatic space shuttle missions, the last being possibly the most dangerous and most important of them all. At its heart the film is the moving human drama of one family, where a mother’s extraordinary career takes us straight to the big philosophical question of what is the level of acceptable risk in human endeavour? This film celebrates Commander Collins’ trailblazing NASA career which opened the way for women to become spacecraft pilots and commanders, and proved a perfect riposte to a previous generation of male astronauts who thought there was no place for women to lead the way in space. Official Selection DOC NYC 2024 - World premiere Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - European premiere

Director: Hassan Ghazi, Daniel Dempster
Year: 2025
Britain is at breaking point. Public services are collapsing, inequality is deepening, and unrest is growing. Akala: Divided Kingdom? is a feature-length documentary that launches an urgent and provocative investigation into the state of the nation. Akala asks: Is the system rigged? Is Britain too divided to fix? What future awaits our young people if this path continues? To find answers, he hits the road - blending personal reflection, candid interviews, and powerful archival material. From anti-immigration protests in Altrincham to striking bin workers in Birmingham and London’s housing crisis, the film unpacks the discontent simmering across the UK, hearing from everyday people on white working-class identity, racism, and loss of trust in traditional media and politics. Featuring voices lincluding MP Zarah Sultana and Rio Ferdinand, it also questions how the media distorts public perception and whether democracy is truly working. Raw, unfiltered, and unflinching, the film captures a country on the edge. Yet amidst the chaos, it ends on hope - spotlighting individuals doing vital work to uplift young people and imagine a better future. More than a film, Akala: Divided Kingdom? is a reckoning - a call to confront reality and reimagine what Britain could become.

Director: Felipe Bustos Sierra
Year: 2026
An immigration ‘dawn raid’ in Glasgow’s most diverse community triggers a chain reaction through Kenmure Street, as neighbours rush to prevent the deportation of two residents. Broadcast live and going viral on social media, the eight-hour stand-off lets the world watch as a police force struggles to contain a peaceful crowd, then exacerbates an explosive situation. Centuries of unhappy endings and systemic violence have not prepared the crowd for their peaceful efforts to pay off, and yet it all ends on one of the most joyful notes you’ll get to see.