We Are Wizards
Alternately entertaining and meditative, director Josh Koury's We Are Wizards is an appealing documentary about the power of the Harry Potter series over the creative process, and the battles that sometimes result.
We Are Wizards's primary focus is how the books and movies have inspired fans to create their own universe of Harry Potter-related work. Most notable among these fan pursuits is the emergence of a music genre knows as "wizard rock."
These tribute bands range in style and degree of success, from the two nerdish masterminds behind the popular Harry and the Potters to the more eclectic attitudes and everyday hurdles of the Hungarian Horntails family.
Equally intriguing is the story of Heather Lawver and her website, The Daily Prophet. Wanting only to give fans a platform for their writing, the then 16-year-old Lawver engaged in and won a legal battle with Warner Brothers Studios over the rights of fans to create original Harry Potter fiction.
While it does detour into some cultural critiquing, including one Christian filmmaker's concerns about the glamorizing of witchcraft, We Are Wizards is an amiable chronicle about the many personal creative journeys launched by Harry Potter.
Director Koury wisely keeps his own fan feelings in reserve, allowing his subjects' collective passion and, arguably, obsession illustrate one of Harry Potter's most important and enduring legacies.