Why Families Will Fall For ‘Lily Topples the World’

We’ve all done it, especially for and with our kids. We’ve all seen it, outlandish, elaborate versions going viral during the pandemic. It is domino mazes, and no one does them better than Lily Hevesh. Born in China and adopted by a family in New Hampshire, the high-energy, optimistic Hevesh is a 22-year-old professional domino artist — and perhaps the only female professional in the game. She’s got more than 3 million followers on YouTube, has appeared on numerous talk shows and news programs, and has wowed the likes of Will Smith, Katy Perry and Kelly Marie Tran of Star Wars fame with her amazing creations, which can involve thousands of colorful dominoes cascading into spirals, forming designs or revealing art.

Hevesh gets the documentary treatment in Lily Topples the World, produced by Tran and directed by Jeremy Workman. Set to premiere August 26 on Discovery+, Lily Topples the World follows Hevesh over the course of three years, as her popularity explodes, as she attends college, and as she finds herself through her art. Dominoes, she notes, have provided her with a community, and they’re far more than kids’ stuff. Her ambitious mazes can take more than 25 hours over the course of 8 days to create, teaching her – and anyone inspired to follow the trail she’s blazing for young women – patience, geometry and physics. The film also presents an unusual coming-of-age story and offers a lesson in celebrity. As Lily asks in the trailer, “How do you balance what you want to do with what your audience expects of you?”Lily Topples the World premieres August 26 on Discovery+.