Stardust: A Story of Love and Architecture

Mario Botta. Architecture and Memory

2020

The film arose from an encounter with Mario Botta during the 2013 Architecture and Memory exhibit held at the Charlotte, North Carolina Bechtler Museum of Modern Art which was designed by the architect. The exhibit gathered and then proposed to the public the Swiss architect’s most significant projects spanning the gamut from his first single-family homes, original expressions of the School of Ticino, to his large public buildings, libraries, theatres, museums, churches and synagogues which have been built across the globe and features more than 90 works. The film is a dialogue on the themes which characterize Mario Botta’s vision and practice: his relationship with history and the territory, the designing of collective spaces, encounters with the leading protagonists of the 20th century. The interview, conducted in Mario Botta’s studio in Mendrisio, is replete with photographic materials, designs and sketches which document his “spaces of memory”.

Regular or Super: Views on Mies van der Rohe

2004

Regular or Super is a fascinating and informative introduction to the work of Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), one of the 20th century's most influential architects, and a thought-provoking demonstration of the social and artistic contributions that architecture at its best can make to our urban environments

Louis Sullivan: the Struggle for American Architecture

2010

The award-winning feature-length documentary about the revolutionary and brilliant Chicago architect Louis Sullivan (1856-1924). Known by historians as the 'father of the skyscraper' and creator of the iconic phrase 'form follows function,' Sullivan was on top of his profession in 1890. Then a series of setbacks plunged him into destitute obscurity from which he never recovered. Yet his persistent belief in the power of his ideas created some of America's most beautiful buildings ever created, and inspired Sullivan's protégé, Frank Lloyd Wright, to fulfill his own dream of a truly American style of architecture.

Eiffel's Race to the Top

2023

Behind the iconic Eiffel Tower lies the story of an incredible challenge to erect a thousand-foot tower that went far beyond a design competition, and marked a major turning point in engineering history. It was the beginning of radical transformation where iron was pitted against stone, engineering against architecture, and modern design against ancients. Press campaigns, lobbying, public conferences, denigration of opposing projects, bragging about big names - all participants engaged in a fierce battle without concession. Using 3D recreations, official sources (reports, letters, drawings...) and intimate archives obtained from their descendants, this film will bring to life this vertical race through a fresh and visual way to mark the centenary of Eiffel death.

Benninger

2023

The Sun Island

2017

A documentary essay film about coincidences, shattered lives and posthumous fame. A found footage family film about love and passion, friendship and heartbreak in Berlin between the wars. But ​a film ​also about self-sufficiency and recycling​, about the green movement and the environment​ – before these ​notion​s had yet been properly invented. And it ​touches​ the utopian potential of ideas that have lain buried in the ground of an island for the past 70 years. The film’s protagonist, Martin Elsaesser, was one of the most prominent modernist architects of Weimar Germany.

Notre-Dame Résurrection

2024

Tadao Ando

1988

Tadao Ando, a self-taught architect, proposes an international architecture that he believes can only be conceived by someone Japanese. His architecture mixes Piranesian drama with contemplative spaces in urban complexes, residences and chapels. This film presents the formative years of his impressive career before he embarked on projects in Europe and the United States.

Pedregulho

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Documentary about a utopian housing project in Rio de Janeiro by architect Affonso Eduardo Reidy.

Peter Eisenman: Building Germany's Holocaust Memorial

2009

This documentary explores the creation of the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin as designed by architect Peter Eisenman. Reaction of the German public to the completed memorial is also shown.

Tokio - Die Stadtkultur von morgen

2021

Tokyo, the largest city in the world, wants to create a new urban culture. It is returning to the urban traditions and building techniques of the small town. The aim is to create a new balance between megacity and small-scale garden city. Tokyo's architects are the driving force. They want to create a new urban culture with revolutionary ideas.

Edwin Lutyens Master Architect

1981

Architecture critic Patrick Nuttgens narrates a documentary on the 20th century architect Edwin Lutyns, exploring the plans and buildings of the man who designed Liverpool Metropolitan Cathederal and the city of New Delhi.

Icons - Oľga Ondreičková

2019

Oľga Ondreičková is one of the exceptional figures of the first generation of Slovak architects. Her work is characterized by pragmatism, simplicity, and monumentality. Her husband is architect Pavel Ondreička, with whom she collaborated on several projects, as well as on the design of furniture, interiors, and artistic decorations. At the height of her career, Oľga Ondreičková led her own project team, which was rare for a woman at that time.

Peter Eisenman: Making Architecture Move

1995

With the participation of famed architects such as Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid, Peter Eisenman: Making Architecture Move provides an intimate look into the work of the daring and controversial creator. Filmed in the U.S. and Germany, Eisenman takes the viewer through several of his buildings, including the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio, while explaining his upcoming projects such as the Rebstockpark community in Frankfurt and the Max Reinhardt monument in Berlin. His predecessors and contemporaries offer praise and commentary on Eisenman's complex body of work including their own thoughts and theories surrounding his unique style.

Desert Utopia: Mid-Century Architecture in Palm Springs

2010

Southern California’s Coachella Valley, including the communities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Desert Hot Springs, boasts hundreds of extraordinary midcentury modern homes, public buildings and commercial structures. Modern designers such as William F. Cody, Albert Frey, William Krisel, John Lautner, Richard Neutra, R.M. Schindler, Donald Wexler, E. Stewart Williams left their collective mark on this desert paradise. Desert Utopia: Mid-Century Architecture in Palm Springs traces the history of modern architecture in Palm Springs from the first bold forays into modernist design to the preservation challenges facing the region today. Director Jake Gorst’s film features rare archival images and footage as well as interviews with historians, homeowners and the architects who helped create this mecca of modernism.