BARBICAN | Urban Poetry

Dance for All

2007

Arquitetura de Morar

1975

An enchanted journey through three extraordinary houses built by Master José Zanine on the seaside hillside of Joatinga, in Rio de Janeiro, surrounded by a stunning musical score, specially created for the film by maestro Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Mr Funkis

2022

Based on a series of interviews documentary film maker Anders Wahlgren made with architect Sven Markelius in 1969. Sven Markelius was one of the most radical architects in Sweden for many years. Since these interviews were the only recorded interviews made with Markelius we can get some insight into his philosophy 50 years later.

Gaudí, le génie visionnaire de Barcelone

2022

In Barcelona, the Casa Batlló alone sums up the genius of Antoni Gaudí. During the exhibition devoted to it by the Musée d'Orsay, we take a guided tour of this eccentric, colorful residence, completed in 1906.

Inside Renzo Piano Building Workshop

2023

We Could Be Heroes

2018

Moroccan paralympic gold medalist Azzedine Nouiri is no longer looking for the longest throw, but to overthrow the system that keeps athletes with different abilities marginalized as destitute second-class citizens.

The American Sector

2020

A documentary about the concrete sections of the Berlin Wall that have been acquired by institutions or individuals since 1989 and are now scattered across the USA. Cherished or abandoned, they have become silent witnesses to recent history.

Chairs for Lovers

1973

Architect Stanley King involves the local Vancouver community in urban design.

Bombin'

1987

First broadcast in 1987 on the UK's Channel 4, Bombin' is a documentary about Afrika Bambaataa's Zulu nation bringing American hip-hop culture to the UK for first time. The main focus is the graffiti art of Brim and the variety of reactions he is faced with from the British public and press.

SAGRADA: El misteri de la creació

2012

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia has been continuously under construction since 1882.

Chambord: The Castle, the King and the Architect

2015

Chambord, the most impressive castle in the Loire Valley, in France, a truly Renaissance treasure, has always been an enigma to generations of historians. Why did King Francis I (1494-1547), who commissioned it, embark on this epic project in the heart of the marshlands in 1519? What significance did he want the castle to have? What role did his friend, Italian genius Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) play? Was he the architect or who was?

All My Homies Hate Skrillex

2021

Fernand Pouillon, Une architecture habitée

2017

In this documentary, Marie-Claire Rubinstein reveals to us, through the testimonies of the inhabitants who live there, the architectural achievements of the French urban planner Fernand Pouillon in Algiers. In particular the vast complexes of hundreds of social housing units, including the most famous Diar E Saâd (1953), Diar El Mahçoul (1954) and Climat de France (1957). The historical context, during the war of independence is related by the historian Benjamin Stora and Nadir Boumaza. This documentary also evokes the personality of Fernand Pouillon in a post-colonial context.

Alvorada: Brazil's Changing Face

1962

Documentary film about Brazil around the year 1960 and how it is shaped by industrial and social upheavals. The film portrays people and landscapes, modern cities as well as the art and culture of the fifth largest country in the world, which encompasses numerous nations and cultures. The focus is on the structural changes, particularly in the capital Brasilia, which was rebuilt and inaugurated in 1960. From the perspective of a European observer, a picture of the country gradually emerges from a wide variety of impressions.

The Human Scale

2012

50 % of the world’s population lives in urban areas. By 2050 this will increase to 80%. Life in a mega city is both enchanting and problematic. Today we face peak oil, climate change, loneliness and severe health issues due to our way of life. But why? The Danish architect and professor Jan Gehl has studied human behavior in cities through 40 years. He has documented how modern cities repel human interaction, and argues that we can build cities in a way, which takes human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account.