A magician from Gloucestershire has turned his years-long pursuit of online pirates into a documentary film. Andi Gladwin, who runs the online magic store Vanishing Inc, discovered in 2017 that his tricks, books and products were being illegally copied and sold for very little money, prompting him to track down and confront those responsible himself.

His investigation took him to Serbia, Belgium, France and Egypt for face-to-face confrontations, and the story became the basis of the film Stealing Magic, made in collaboration with video game studio owner Randy Pitchford over three years. The documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and has drawn positive reviews, with Gladwin saying he was especially encouraged by interest from US lawmakers and computing experts keen to tackle piracy, and hopes the film inspires others to speak up about problems in their own industries.