Detour de Force is the fascinating portrait of ‘thoughtographer’ Ted Serios. In the 1960s, this charismatic Chicago bellboy created a furor by claiming that he could use his paranormal gifts to create Polaroid images. In a mysterious way, media artist Rebecca Baron creates a montage of archival material: 16mm film recordings from Serios’ ‘sessions’ and sound recordings of his conversations with Dr. Jule Eisenbud, the psychiatrist who supported his claims.

Rebecca Baron (US) is known for her essay-like films, in which she investigates the construction and reconstruction of history. Detour de Force is also more an ethnographic than a biographical document, less interested in factual truth than in the social and scientific environment in which Serios’ ‘psychic photography’ took place.