EXCLUSIVE: A simple deck of cards holds the key to solving a centuries-old royal murder mystery. That’s the intriguing premise of the documentary Lost in the Shuffle, which makes its world premiere this evening at the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto.
Jon Ornoy directed the film which is built around the investigations of sleight of hand master Shawn Farquhar, a two-time world champion of magic. Farquhar’s fascination with cards led him to begin to wonder about their colorful design, especially the King of Hearts, “sometimes known as the Suicide King due to the sword embedded in his skull,” as the Hot Docs program helpfully observes.
We have your first look at the film in the trailer above.
The Château d’Amboise in Amboise, Loire Valley, on September 3, 2023.
GUILLAUME SOUVANT/AFP via Getty Images
The mystery surrounds Charles VIII, King of France, who met an unexpected end on April 7, 1498. According to an article published by the National Library of Medicine, the monarch had just “attended a game of palm in the ditches of the Château d’Amboise [in the Loire Valley]. The 27-year-old King suddenly collapsed and became comatose. He laid down, almost on his own, on a straw mat that was hastily arranged, and he died 9 hours later.”
A brain hemorrhage? “An epileptic condition secondary to neurosyphilis,” as authors Marc Zanello, Alexandre Roux and others posit? Farquhar believes something more sinister was at play.
LevelFilm/Obscured Pictures
“Farquhar takes us through six countries as he both tries to prove his theory that hidden in the art of every deck of cards are the clues to the conspiracy to kill a French king in 1498,” notes a synopsis of the film, “while simultaneously creating a brand-new routine that tells the real story of Charles VIII’s untimely demise.”
Lost in the Shuffle will debut in theaters in the U.S. and Canada this August, with Obscured Pictures handling the U.S. theatrical release and LevelFilm on top of Canadian distribution. Giant Pictures will release the film on VOD in September.
In addition to tonight’s screening at the TIFF Lightbox venue in Toronto, the film will have a second screening at Hot Docs on Wednesday, May 1, at the same venue. Prepare to be dazzled, says, the festival: “Throughout this exciting adventure full of secrets and intrigue, the magic unfolds right before our very eyes.”
Watch the trailer for Lost in the Shuffle above.