Mountains on Stage
As a film series that explores one’s fascination for, and belonging to intriguing places, we have a great appreciation for stunning landscapes and a love for the outdoors.
The Mountains on Stage film festival Summer Edition is an adrenalin-fuelling online film festival this year available from the 11th to the 18th November 2020.
The festival includes four carefully selected short films taking us to Ha Long Bay, the Himalayas, the Andes and finally to the K2 summit. Tickets to the festival can be pre-orderd via Vimeo, or head to the Mountains on Stage webpage for more information about the films and online streaming.
With the lockdown continuing lets sit back, escape and take our minds to some of the world’s most magnificent places that are just too enticing not to explore. Though we should warn you, these incredible explorers take climbing, paragliding, mountaineering and kayaking to its limits, so take a breath and hold onto you seats!
Films include:
Deep Water by @jonglassberg
Lost in Karakorum by @damien_lacaze and Antoine Girard
Apurimac by Hugo Clouzeau
The Last Mountain by Darius Zaluski
"The biggest gallery that exists"
Director and filmmaker Matt Black collated a series of casual and insightful interviews with current artists around the world, publishing these interviews into the book Reflections: In Conversation with Today’s Artists. These interviews were originally recorded and published in collaboration with one of our favourite film blogs, Nowness. They discuss inspirations, motivations and stories from the artists’ careers - and they can all be watched for free online!
A favourite of ours has to be ‘JR’s Monster Project’. JR grew up in Paris and started his career in graffiti on the streets. He then began taking photographs and pasting his work around the city, using buildings, bridges, trains and bin lorries as his exhibition space.
“I kind of got into the art world by accident. When I started, I didn’t even know an artist was a job. I thought what I was doing was called vandalism.”
JR’s local portrait project very quickly became worldwide. He had people taking their own photographs and pasting the printed work in their own cities.
“It went from a local project with a global impact, to a local project with a local impact, that speaks to the community and that is because I go out of the equation.”
At the end of the interview, JR discusses his plans to exhibit his photographs inside a gallery and reflects on the difference between this and displaying his work outside in the streets. He refers to the city as “the biggest gallery that exists. It is also a space that you can not reproduce in the inside because it touched people that never stepped inside [a gallery].”
Check out JR’s Monster Project and many other Matt Black interviews by clicking below.
Homemade City
So much of what we do at WT Architecture is about learning what it is about a place that makes it special to those who live, work and play there. A large part of this is understanding the culture, personal and wider histories of a place through conversations with people of all ages. Inspired and excited by the future opportunities that it brings, we would like to share this fantastic project called Homemade City by Action For Sama and Future Aleppo.
This is a new initiative inspired by a young Syrian boy and ‘architect’ called Mohammad Kteish who one day, back in 2015, reached out to the world renowned filmmaker and journalist Waad al-Kateab. Tucked away in his dad’s workshop for four months, Mohammad rebuilt his home city of Aleppo while being surrounded by the bombing attacks on hospitals, schools and the Aleppo’s treasured landmarks.
Interested in Mohammad’s story, Waad made a short film called ‘Inside Aleppo: the boy who dreams of rebuilding his city’ where Mohammad talks about his dreams and designs for the future of his city (the film can be watched by clicking below).
After meeting Creative Producer Alex Pearson, together Mohammad and Alex created Future Aleppo which through virtual reality has brought hope and preservation to the city and its residents, those who have been forced to leave and those who remain. The project aims to help Mohammad realise his own dreams of becoming an architect while also getting as many young people involved as possible so that they too can rebuild their homes. Future Aleppo has become an award winning interactive exhibition of Mohammad’s model. The exhibition has been touring around the world, inviting people to participate in the project and learn of the city’s architectural and personal histories.
This year Waad al-Kateab, Mohammad Kteish and Future Aleppo teamed up to create Homemade City. The project has become a way that Future Aleppo can bring Mohammad’s vision into peoples’ homes during lockdown through a series of virtual tutorials and workshops, inviting children to send in their creations for them to be featured in the VR experience. Read more about the project by visiting Action For Sama or Future Aleppo online. You can also download examples of Future Aleppo’s virtual cities by clicking the link below!
Lights Out
This week we have been looking closer to home, as we have been enjoying watching the short films created by local Scottish filmmaker and photographer Chris Leslie. Based in Glasgow Chris has been capturing the stories and lives of the residents of the city, from shipbuilders at the Govan Shipyard, the venders working in Paddy’s Market and the infamous Barrowland Ballroom.
In his short film ‘Lights Out’ Chris shares the stories of those who had lived in the Bluevale and Whitevale tower block flats. Built in 1969 they were the tallest building in Scotland, however both were demolished in 2015/2016 due to deterioration and high maintenance and running costs. Forming part of his ‘Disappearing Glasgow’ project the film comprises of 4 years of footage and interviews with past residents of these flats who share their memories of living in Glasgow’s ‘Twin Towers’.
Take a look at the film via the link below which will take you to Chris’s website where you can view many other stories of Glasgow and other stories from around the world!
Photo Credits: Chris Leslie
Homo Urbanus
As lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease across the country our cities and urban spaces are starting to come back to life after months of hibernation. This time of isolation has provided us with a whole new appreciation for the cities that we live in and love to visit across the world.
Video artists, filmmakers, producers and publishers Ila Beka & Louise Lemoine have been undertakng a long-term research project that looks at cities across the world and asks the question ‘what makes a city?’
Their collection of films ‘Homo Urbanus’ celebrates the vibrancy, rhythm and landscape of 10 different cities across the world. The films that are currently available are Bogota, Naples, Saint-Petersburg, Rabat, Seoul and Tokyo, with Doha, Kyoto, Shanghai and Venice coming soon.
Click the link below which will take you to their Vimeo account where you can purchase the films to watch!
Art in the post-pandemic city
This week we’ve been tuning into some interesting panel discussions that talk about art, culture, the built environment and what this means for our post-pandemic cities.
We have been catching up on the Architecture Fringe ‘Fortnight Fringe’ which kicked off at the beginning of June with a conversation with Richard Williams professor of contemporary visual arts at Edinburgh Uni, Suzanne Ewing from Zone Architects and Christoph Lindner from The Bartlett.
We also tuned into a panel discussion with artists, curators and architects, hosted by Dezeen for the Virtual Design Festival - the world’s first online design festival! The talk was a collaboration between VDF and Therme Art Programme and formed part of a new initiative, Wellbeing Culture Forum, which is a programme of online discussions that explore the role of culture and art during the COVID19 pandemic.
Both of these discussions talk about the importance and impact of art and architecture as we emerge from the lockdown and begin once again to engage with our urban surroundings. They discuss space and spatial awareness and the visibility and sanctioning of art. They begin to speculate on the social and economic future of our cities and what we can do to help our neighbours.
We would like to pair these conversations with a collection of films made by Moving Cities Project founded in 2014 by Jevan Chowdhury. Shot across different cities worldwide, we not only find these short films beautiful and moving but they also make us think about our experience of a place, art, architecture and the city as a stage. Has the lockdown and two metre distancing measures heightened our awareness of our surroundings and our own bodies in the spaces that we live, work, exercise… and dance?
Black Vessel
“If you make beautiful vessels, those vessels will cause people to gather” [Theaster Gates]
To end a week in which we’ve been looking at ongoing conversations surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement and how this translates into diversity in architecture, we have chosen to share a film which talks about the notion of bringing people together in one place.
‘Black Vessel’ is a powerful and engaging short film by Chris Strong which follows Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates as he works at his kiln and talks about the metaphorical power of materials and process in his artwork. He discusses how material and craft can create a means for gathering and in this case, through the process of sculpture and pottery as he prepares for his exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery in New York.
Gate’s work is known to respond to social history and is therefore focused on people and communities. His concept not only speaks to us as designers and makers, but is relevant to the conversations that we have been having this week and plan to continue having, as we hope to see a greater sense of bringing those together of different cultures, backgrounds and communities across the creative industries.
Segregated by Design
We’re continuing to find some informative and inspirational films this week that talk about the role architecture and designers have to play in combatting racism.
‘Segregated by Design’ is a short film by Mark Lopez which gained recognition at last year’s American Documentary Film Festival and Encounters Film Festival. It illustrates the forgotten history of how American governments segregated their cities through law and policy and how this impacts the views of those living there today. Based on the book ‘The Colour of Law’ by Richard Rothstein, sadly it’s not hard to imagine that this kind of city planning is apparent in many countries worldwide.
Follow the makers of the film on Instagram @segregatedbydesign
Architecture for All
“We need to be represented in the world of architecture” [Neil Pinder]
This week we have been thinking about the connection between the Black Lives Matter movement and architectural practices, education, forums from the local to the far, and how we can discuss what it is to have diversity in architecture. We want to continue the important conversations that are happening all over the world and put that into the creative industry context. What do we see when we think about diversity in architecture, what can we do to learn and inform and how can we make sure that is open to all?
We would like to share a film that we found on Architects Journal, brought to us by The Architecture Foundation. Focusing on the future of creative learning in the UK, ‘Architecture for All’ follows passionate London designer and teacher Neil Pinder and includes interviews with Graveney school students, specialists and politicians. The film was introduced as the launch of an Architecture Foundation programme called Celebrating Architecture which encourages creative learning in schools and promotes careers in design to young people. You can also follow them on Instagram @celebratingarchitecture
As always, ASPECT:Cinema is just as much about the discussion as it is about the films and so we would love to hear your thoughts.
Moving Worlds
Since Scotland went into lockdown our ASPECT:Cinema team have been looking at ways that we can continue to share architecture in film with our film club and wider creative communities. Without being able to host another event since our last screening in February, we have decided to share some of the interesting architecture-in-film resources, articles, short clips and much more that we find as our team continue to work from home. We hope that we can share knowledge, inspire conversation and provide you with interesting content for the home cinema experience!
We have decided to kick things off by joining the UK in celebrating Refugee Week and bringing to you some of our favourite aspects about this UK-wide festival in the lead up to World Refugee Day this Saturday. Architecture is one of the many professions that has a role to play in understanding the refugee crisis, sharing knowledge and using our skills in order to help those who come to the UK, having left their homes behind. Refugee Week is a celebration of their incredible resilience and creativity, hosting a programme of arts, cultural and educational events.
The festival is coordinated by Counterpoints Arts who hold an online film programme called Moving Worlds where you can access the films and take part in post-viewing discussions. This years Refugee Week festival is titled ‘Imagine’ and we invite you to join us in checking out the events they have planned and the films hosted by Moving Worlds.
Keep up to date with whats on throughout the festival by following them on Instagram @refugeeweekuk or click the button below to take you to their website.
‘FOR SAMA’
‘For Sama’ - filmed and narrated by Waad Al-Kateab and co-produced with Edward Watts. An incredible true story following Waad’s journey of living, studying and becoming a mother in the city of Aleppo, Syria. With too many awards to even list here, it is an incredible film that shows a first hand experience of war and conflict on ones doorstep.
‘HUMAN FLOW’
‘Human Flow’ directed by Ai Weiwei follows a series of human stories across 23 countries and their search for safety, shelter and justice. This film captures the resilience in people that Refugee Week recognises as it aims to educate us on the extremes of the refugee crisis.
Extract, Make, Recycle
ASPECT:Cinema returned to Edinburgh College of Art’s Wee Red Bar this month to continue its architectural film series. With a night of shorts including award-winning films from independent filmmakers and artists we decided to explore the concept of craft, materials and environmental change. A huge thank you to all the filmmakers for providing the following shorts that featured in the screening.
SARRAGAN
“Between man and earth, a unique bond is clearly discernible, a metaphor of what we are, of where we come from.” [Louise Ernandez]
French filmmaker and photographer Louise Ernandez was interested in exploring the connection “between man and earth”. She takes us on a journey through the 150-year-old Sarragan limestone quarry in the South of France. The quarry was initiated by the late playwright Jean Deschamps who had a dream to create a theatre made of monolithic stones but this project was sadly abandoned after he died in 2007. Today, in this half-constructed space, comprised of a thousand corridors, towering columns and echoing rooms - all hollowed out by hand - the Sarragan limestone is still extracted by four remaining quarrymen and sold as artists’ materials.
‘SARRAGAN’ by Louise Ernandez
MAKING 25 SAVILLE ROW
“25 Savile Row is about finding elegance in the relationship of simple forms and natural materials. The Japanese have a word for this 'shibui' which refers to a particular aesthetic of simple, subtle and unobtrusive beauty.” [Stuart Piercy]
In ‘Making 25 Saville Row’, photographer and filmmaker Nick Ballon documents the architects Piercy & Company’s redesign of a London office over the period of a year. The film follows the materials, makers and craftsmanship that has gone into the creation of this beautifully crafted project.
‘Making 25 Saville Row’ by Nick Ballon
STEMS
“I stick and sculpt and keep scraping and putting things together and shaping things, and then suddenly what was just stuff, becomes this character staring back at you.” [Ainslie Henderson]
‘Stems’ is an enchanting 2 minute film by Scottish filmmaker Ainslie Henderson which illustrates the intricate craft of puppet making through the art of stop-motion picture. Using natural and recycled materials, Ainslie rebuilds and gives them a new life as they grow into characters that take on their own personalities.
‘Stems’ by Ainslie Henderson
TORRE DAVID
“a sort of architecture without architects” [Iwan Baan - Architectural photographer]
‘Torre David’ by Urban Think Tank follows the story of an office tower in the city of Caracas, Venezuela, which was left abandoned following the death of it’s developer and the national banking crisis. In 2007, after being left neglected for over a decade, the tower became the improvised home for a community of over 800 families. The film follows the everyday life for the residents living in this ‘vertical slum’ before they were evacuated by the government in 2014.
‘Torre David’ by Urban Think Tank
LOST WORLD
“Here we only have the right to sit, shed tears and witness the destruction of our grandchildren’s home, our village and our way of life”
The award-winning filmmaker, lawyer and storyteller Kalyanee Mam brings us the story of a community’s beloved home being faced with the threat of erasure due to the sand dredging of Cambodia’s mangrove forests, to form the vast infrastructure of Singapore.
‘Lost World’ by Kalyanee Mam
REWILD
“the idea of going back, of rewinding, is an invitation to reconnect with ourselves; to recover awareness and respect for the earth, which is the ecosystem of which we are a part” [ESCIF]
We end with a film by Splash and Burn which documents an installation by Spanish artist ESCIF who is seeking to draw attention to the ecological devastation wrought by palm oil farming in Southeast Asia. The installation involved carving a rewind symbol into a palm oil plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia.
‘REWILD’ by Splash and Burn
RIAS Convention 2019
ASPECT:Cinema were delighted to join Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland for their 2019 Convention and be a part of this years’ discussions on ‘Climate of Opinion’. We decided to show a selection of films that discuss resilience and diversity, the sustainable use and re-use of materials and something close to home.
MINING POEMS OR ODES
“His retrospective poetry reveals a man who is trying to achieve a state of contentment through words and philosophy. He has replaced his tools for pens and paper.“[Scottish Documentary Institute]
In this poetic and heart-warming film by Glasgow based Callum Rice, Robert, an ex-shipyard welder from Govan, Scotland, reflects on how his life experiences have influenced his new found compulsion to write.
‘Mining Poems or Odes’ by Callum Rice
STEMS
“I stick and sculpt and keep scraping and putting things together and shaping things, and then suddenly what was just stuff, becomes this character staring back at you.” [Ainslie Henderson]
‘Stems’ is an enchanting 2 minute film by Scottish filmmaker Ainslie Henderson which illustrates the intricate craft of puppet making through the art of stop-motion picture. Using natural and recycled materials, Ainslie rebuilds and gives them a new life as they grow into characters that take on their own personalities.
‘Stems’ by Ainslie Henderson
TORRE DAVID
“a sort of architecture without architects” [Iwan Baan - Architectural photographer]
‘Torre David’ by Urban Think Tank follows the story of an office tower in the city of Caracas, Venezuela, which was left abandoned following the death of it’s developer and the national banking crisis. In 2007, after being left neglected for over a decade, the tower became the improvised home for a community of over 800 families. The film follows the everyday life for the residents living in this ‘vertical slum’ before they were evacuated by the government in 2014.
‘Torre David’ by Urban Think Tank
Design Me Happy - Reflections
DESIGN ME HAPPY
We see the importance of discussing and caring for our psychological health at WT Architecture. With this in mind, ASPECT:Cinema returned to the stage for this year's Architecture Fringe Festival with a short film screening and discussion that explored how our architectural environments can affect our mental health and well being. We set out to uncover the influences that space and structure have in uplifting the human psyche, or suppressing it. Joined by our panelists, Paul Stallan from Stallan-Brand, Edinburgh based artist Olivia Turner and Wil Tunnell from WT Architecture, we discussed the perception of space in the everyday and the feelings of joyfulness, peace, struggle and unease that we can experience in our built environments.
The screening was held in the old courtroom of the incredible Oxford House in Glasgow (also home to Stallan-Brand’s studios) and thanks to a huge amount of support from our host, our panelists, filmmakers, our engaging audience, those at WT Architecture and all other contributors, the evening was a great success.
The list of films screened on the night can be found in the programme featured in our previous blog post.
Photographs by Eoin Carey
Through the films and panel discussion we put architecture under the microscope and shared our personal experiences to define the ways that space can uplift each and every one of us.
We were fortunate to gain the incredible insight from one of Stallan-Brand’s founding directors, Paul Stallan, who’s work in practice seeks to “turn our mirrors into windows and halls into hallways” and provide a new outlook and direction to avoid and help people suffering with poor mental health. Paul offered his reflections on the relationship between our physical and spatial environment, the people around us and our wellbeing.
We were also proud to have Olivia Turner join us from Edinburgh and offer her creative and professional insight on the perception of space and design and the affects on the human minds. As well as an artist, Olivia is a co-founder of DOK Artist Space, a grass roots contemporary exhibition and studio space in Edinburgh. After graduating from Edinburgh College of Art in 2015, she became a notable artist in Edinburgh’s creative scene and now exhibits her work across the U.K. With a multitude of awards to date, including the Open Contemporary Young Artist Award with an exhibition showing this September, Olivia is also a key member of the Architecture Fringe team, The Royal Scottish Academy and the Society of Scottish Arts.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Paul and Livvy, Wil at WTA and our incredible audience for making ‘Design Me Happy’ such an engaging night!
Design Me Happy - Programme
We were delighted to be able to screen the following short films at our ‘Design Me Happy’ screening event as part of the this year’s Architecture Fringe Festival - ‘In Real Life’.
ARCHIATRIC
A short digital animation by Federico Babina that illustrates some of the many mental health disorders in their architectural forms. The haunting built forms depicting mental illnesses like anxiety, narcolepsy and phobias reflect and highlight the relationship between mental health and our creative professions.
‘Archiatric’ by Federico Babina
NEW HORIZON YOUTH CENTRE
A beautifully depicted intimate view of the New Horizon Youth Centre, designed by Adam Khan Architects. The NHYC is a day centre for young homeless people looking for a place which can provide support, friendship, community and fresh starts in life. Filmed by Lewis Khan for Adam Khan Architects.
‘New Horizon Youth Centre’ by Lewis Khan
HALL OF MIRRORS
Commissioned by Paul Stallan and filmed by Andrew Koji and Dominic Coates, this story captures the decisive few days in the life of Basil, a young man who suffers from Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a psychological condition in which a person becomes obsessed with imaginary defects in their appearance. Basil is forced to face the demons that infest his mind, and leave the safety of his home when he is pushed to initiate a change in his life.
‘Hall of Mirrors’ by Andrew Koji and Dominic Coates
CLUB PALACE
A surreal short film by Caravane, Camille Boyer and Nik Mirus that challenges perceptions of both scale and space. We are taken on a journey through the talented construction of miniature film sets that explore a series of curious landscapes as we embrace the unknown.
‘Club Palace’ by Caravane, Camille Boyer and Nik Mirus
HUGO IN THE GARDEN
A short and intense animation by Six n’ Five and Twistedpoly that will put your senses on edge as this multi-collaborative project explores how artificial common materials work themselves into an organic atmosphere. An unfamiliar perception of material, texture, colour and sound.
‘Hugo in the Garden’ by Six n’ Five and Twistedpoly
JEU
A short yet lively painted animation by Georges Schwizgebel that takes us to a landscape whose scenery is constantly morphing and mutating. Schwizgebel takes us on a disorientating ride through the helter-skelter world which evokes the chaos of our everyday lives.
‘JEU’ by Georges Schwizgebel
HUMAN SHELTER
What does ‘home’ mean to you?
Award-winning Danish filmmaker Boris Bertram explores the meaning of home through this visually stunning film, ‘The Human Shelter’. Shot across four continents over 18 months, the film documents shelters from all corners of the earth, exploring what it is that defines the places we feel at ease, the spaces of comfort and familiarity.
While exposing the peculiarities of dwelling in climatic extremes, isolation, displacement and community, we are intimately drawn into the lives of people with one thing in common, a desire to feel at home.
‘Human Shelter’ by Good Company Pictures
Barbicania
Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine, internationally known for their unique take on architecture, settled for a month in the heart of the Barbican. The film, built as a personal diary, recounts the discoveries made during their urban stay from the top floors of the towers to the underground levels of the art centre.
Through an impressive gallery of portraits, Barbicania draws an intimate human map of the place, breathing life into this harsh district and questioning the durability of this utopia from the 50s.
Robin Hood Gardens
STREETS IN THE SKY & INVISIBLE STREETS by Joe Gilbert
As demolition appears imminent, 'Streets in the Sky' by Joe Gilbert covers the final chapter of the living Robin Hood Gardens estate in east London. Using the honest opinions of Timothy Brittain-Catlin and Amy Frearson, the film reflects on how the brutalist estate stood in modern day with beautifully calm monochromatic footage.
This month’s screening at The Wee Red Bar follows Robin Hood Garden’s journey from inception to destruction to reinstallation at the 2018 Venice Biennale. Joined by the filmmaker himself - Joe Gilbert as we screen two of his stunning and insightful documentaries.
THE SMITHSONS ON HOUSING
“Are tower blocks obsolete?”
Alison and Peter Smithson are British architects with an international reputation.
Currently working on a new development in Poplar, they demonstrate their belief in a practical alternative to tower blocks; a substitute, in their opinion, as new and relevant for London as the first Georgian square.
Living in Span Homes
LIVING IN SPAN HOMES
Included in this month’s short film series are a delightful set of interviews from Chocolate Films called 'Living in Span Homes'. The films show the history of Eric Lyon's designs and the charming perspectives of the people who live within them today.
Utopia
FOX AND THE WHALE
An independently produced and self-financed animated short Film by Robin Joseph. Released in 2016, the film was short listed for the 90th Oscars and is a nominee for the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards. It is a tale of longing and discovery about a curious fox who goes in search of an elusive whale.
‘Fox and the Whale’ by Robin Joseph
THE ICEBERG
Filmed from the perspective of the Seagull, this live-footage made by CRAC, in collaboration with the French film studio, 11h45, unveils the spatial dimension of the “Iceberg” housing complex in Aarhus (Denmark) and its relationship with the surrounding docklands development area, a former industrial port transformed into a lively new city district.
THE PROPHET
Penguins slide and somersault down the sloping rooftops of the “Iceberg” housing complex in another animated film created by studio 11h45.
‘The Prophet’ by 11h45
THE TREE OF LIFE
A film by Yu Hsuan Chen who graduated this year from ECA in Animation. This short story is about the sincere internal struggle of a young man who notices some physical changes every time he visits his ageing father. His father adopts a new hobby by gardening and builds his own glass house in the backyard, making him happy and relaxed in his old age.
‘The Tree of Life’ by Yu Hsuan Chen
GROWTH
A film by Calum Main who also graduated this year from ECA in Animation. The film follows a lonely inventor on a floating island searching for a purpose to his life which has become mundane and repetitive. Breaking the inventors cycle, a mysterious character appears on the island leading to the inventor digging up the past in order to break the monotonous cycle he finds himself in.
‘Growth’ by Calum Main
UP
Carl Fredricksen as a boy wanted to explore South America and find the forbidden Paradise Falls. About 64 years later he gets to begin his journey along with a Boy Scout named Russel by lifting his house with thousands of balloons. On their journey they make many new friends including a talking dog and figure out that someone has evil plans. Carl soon realizes that this evildoer is his childhood idol. Will they be able to defeat him and find Paradise Falls?
In 2010, this film won two Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year and Best Original Music Score. Along with the Golden Globe, Academy Awards and a BAFTA for the Best Animated Feature Film.
‘Up’
Reality
ARCHITECTURE AND THE IMAGINATION
A documentary produced and directed by Iain Mitchell about his grandfather, the architect Gavin McConnell and his designs for Balwearie High School in Kirkcaldy.
VIEW THE FUTURE CITY OF LONDON WITH DUNCAN
This short film is part of a multi year project called ‘1000 Londoners’ by the Glasgow and London-based film studio, Chocolate Films. The film series offers an insight into the lives of 1000 people who consider themselves to be Londoners, taking in all ages, religions, race, income, interests and opinions. The aim of the project is to improve understanding and community cohesion by enabling Londoners to learn more about the people who share their city. This particular film is no.216, Duncan from Hackney and he is an architectural model maker.
‘View the Future City of London with Duncan’ by Chocolate Films
NEIGHBOURS
Released in 1952, this Oscar-winning short film by Scottish Canadian animator, Norman McLaren is a parable about two people who come to blows over the possession of a flower. The artist animates the actors by employing principles normally used to put drawings or puppets into motion.
ELEVATION
'Elevation' is Dezeen’s latest investigation into what could become a utopian drone-filled future or a dystopian nightmare. One thing is certain - drones’ presence within our cities is already a reality.
With thoughts and predictions from Norman Foster, Paul Priestman, Liam Young and Anab Jain it’s an insightful watch!
‘Elevation’ by Dezeen
BARBICANIA
Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine, internationally known for their unique take on architecture, settled for a month in the heart of the Barbican. The film, built as a personal diary, recounts the discoveries made during their urban stay from the top floors of the towers to the underground levels of the art centre.
Capturing a month-long immersion in the life of the Barbican Centre and Barbican Estate in London, Barbicania, released in 2014, portrays one of the most representative achievements of brutalist architecture. Shaped as a diary, the documentary questions the durability of this post Second World War utopia while recounting the directors’ discoveries throughout the many floors of the towers: an intimate portrayal of the personalities, lifestyle, and architectural landscapes that make the Barbican residential estate so unique. Through an impressive gallery of portraits, Barbicania draws an intimate human map of the place, breathing life into this harsh district and questioning the durability of this utopia from the 50s.
‘Barbicania’ by Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine
Dystopia
MY CITY
This short film is by Fraser Murdoch. It was the winner of the Fife Independant Film Expo in 2015 for Best Animation, and was selected by Ickle Film Festival in 2012. Starring Brian Cox as one of the three aristocratic powerhouses, ‘My City’ is uniquely told. Using animation and studies in cinematic storytelling, the audience is provided with different points of views. The visuals represent a melancholic and nostalgic reminiscence of Lloyd Fudlegh’s controversial career and romantic life, whilst the voice over of the journalist represents the domineering influence of the media.
‘My City’ by Fraser Murdoch
OTHERHALF AND FUGU & TAKO
Starting his career as an architect, Ben West is now an award-winning film maker specialising in visual effects. Developing cutting edge techniques, he has been visual effects supervisor at Academy Award winning studios Framestore and his films have been screened at the Comic Con International in 2015 and 2017. This evening we’ll be screening two films by Ben West, ‘OTHERHALF’ and ‘FUGU & TAKO’.
‘OTHERHALF’ is a short film about a man who breaks up with himself. After his legs walk out on his body, he visits a therapist to try and find a way to put himself back together.
Following, ‘FUGU & TAKO’ is a film about two Japanese salarymen who after becoming fish mutants, must battle against their own ineptitude, a legion of yakuza, and a Godzilla-like monster in an epic journey to find the one person who can return them to normal, the Sushi Chef who transformed them.
‘Otherhalf’ by Ben West
‘Fugu & Tako’ by ben West
MY STUFFED GRANNY
Released in 2014, ‘My Stuffed Granny’ was directed and filmed by Effie Pappa and won both the McLaren award for Best British Animation and the Best International Student Award at the Montreal World Film Festival in 2014. This short film is a stop frame, puppet animation which depicts hope during the Greek socio-political and economic crisis. It is about a young girl Sofía who lives in Greece with Father and Granny. Father lost his job and Granny’s small pension is not enough to quench Granny’s seemingly endless appetite. Little Sofía comes up with a plan to help her Father feed Granny and decides to grow her own plants. This soon proves to be a little bit more difficult than she had originally planned. Will Sofia be able to turn her family’s fortune?
‘My Stuffed Granny’ by Effie Pappa
ASH TO ART
In light of the recent tragic events at Glasgow School of Art this short film seems especially poignant. In 2014, The Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh building, a symbol of British art, was reduced to ash. This film by Sharon Liu is a charcoal animation using ash salvaged from the fire and documents the Ash to Art project which transformed the worthless by-product of the first fire into 25 priceless works of art. 25 world-famous artists including Grayson Perry, David Shrigley and Sir Antony Gormley were asked to turn a piece of charcoal salvaged from the Mackintosh Building fire into art. The work was auctioned then auctioned to fund the rebuild.
‘Ash to Art’ by Sharon Liu
BLADERUNNER 2049
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years. Blade Runner 2049 won two awards at this years Oscars for Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Achievement in Visual Effects along with a BAFTA for Best Cinematography.
