BRATTLEBORO — Dominoes will dominate downtown for one weekend this fall, with two events celebrating the art and science of domino toppling: a film screening and the 14th annual Domino Toppling Extravaganza.
Domino-toppling sensation Lily Hevesh will attend the screening of the documentary film Lily Topples the World, about her rise as an internationally recognized domino artist, on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. at the Latchis Theatre.
Directed by Jeremy Workman, the film won the Grand Jury Award for documentary feature at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival and tied for the Audience Award for best documentary at the 2021 San Francisco International Film Festival. The film is now playing in theaters around the country and streaming on Discovery+.
Hevesh and Workman will participate in a question-and-answer session following the film. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children.
Filmed over three years and across multiple cities, and featuring appearances by Jimmy Fallon, Katy Perry, and Will Smith, Lily Topples The World is an unlikely tale of a young woman (known online as “Hevesh5”) who becomes a global artistic force with more than 1 billion YouTube views. A pivotal scene in the film was shot at BMAC in 2018.
On Sunday, Oct. 17, at 5:30 p.m., Hevesh returns to BMAC for the 14th annual Domino Toppling Extravaganza. Tickets for in-person viewing are available in advance at brattleboromuseum.org or at the door. Doors open at 5 p.m. Free event parking is available at 28 Vernon St. No backpacks or strollers are allowed at the event, and all audience members must wear masks. The event will also be livestreamed via Facebook Live starting at 5:15 p.m.
Hevesh and three other domino artists - Shane O'Brien, Chris Wright, and Nathan Heck - will arrive in Brattleboro 48 hours ahead of the toppling to begin setting up the spectacle. The floor of BMAC's Wolf Kahn & Emily Mason Gallery will be filled with an elaborate pattern of tens of thousands of dominoes.
“We love doing the BMAC event,” said Hevesh. “It's one of the only occasions where my fellow domino artists and I can create whatever we imagine, based solely on artistic considerations, not sponsor requirements or logo placements.”
Hevesh is the world's only full-time, professional domino artist and has her own brand of dominoes, H5 Domino Creations, available in stores nationwide. She has more than 3 million YouTube subscribers. Her videos have been featured on NBC, Fox News, Nickelodeon, CNN, and CBS, and she has created commercial projects for Disney, Marvel, Ford, Honda, and LEGO.