Ben Building: Mussolini, Monuments and Modernism

In Residence: Ricardo Bofill(es)

There are houses, and then there’s Ricardo Bofill’s house: a brutalist former cement factory of epic proportions on the outskirts of Barcelona, Spain. A grandiose monument to industrial architecture in the Catalonian town of Sant Just Desvern, La Fabrica is a poetic and personal space that redefines the notion of the conventional home. “Nowadays we want everyone who comes through our door to feel comfortable, but that's not Bofill’s idea here,” says filmmaker Albert Moya, who directed latest installment of In Residence. “It goes much further, you connect with the space in a more spiritual way.” Rising above lush gardens that mask the grounds’ unglamorous roots, the eight remaining silos that once hosted an endless stream of workmen and heavy machinery now house both Bofill’s private life, and his award-winning architecture and urban design practice.

Quando i tedeschi non sapevano nuotare(it)

Inside Renzo Piano Building Workshop(it)

Ztracený architekt Ernst Wiesner(cs)

Chambord: The Castle, the King and the Architect(fr)

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?

The Great North(en)

Beginning at the industrial revolution of the ‘great north’, Jenn Nkiru draws lines between peoples, cities, countries, buildings, movements, bodies and spaces(s) using a mixture of archive materials and new footage. There is little stillness as we are pushed and pulled through Black histories and communities across the city of Manchester and beyond. Nkiru has termed this filmmaking process “cosmic archeology”, and it is grounded in Afro-surrealism, experimental film and the Black arts movement.

The American Sector(en)

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.

Antonio Gaudí(en)

A study of Antoni Gaudí's architecture (especially the Church of the Holy Trinity in Barcelona), his sources of inspiration and his influence on Picasso. (BFI)

in retrospect(de)

Immigrant workers build a shopping mall for the upcoming 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. In 2016, nine people with migrant backgrounds are killed in a racist attack at the same mall.

2 or 3 Things I Know About Him(de)

What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)

Drafting: Occupations & Opportunities(en)

Treats drafting as a means of visual communication and a key to organized training and planning. Discusses the importance of drafting in various fields such as architecture, engineering, and industry. Drafting allows individuals to communicate their ideas visually, leading to accurate planning and construction. It is emphasized that drafting skills open up numerous career opportunities in different industries.

The Oyler House: Richard Neutra's Desert Retreat(en)

In 1959, a government employee named Richard Oyler, living in the tiny desert town of Lone Pine, California, asked world-famous modern architect Richard Neutra to design his modest family home. To Oyler's surprise, Neutra agreed. Thus began an unlikely friendship that led to the design and construction of an iconic mid-century modern masterpiece.

Coast Modern(en)

A core group of architects embraced the West Coast from Vancouver to LA with its particular geography and values and left behind a legacy of inspired dwellings. Today, architects celebrate the influence established by their predecessors.

Pessac - Living in a Laboratory(de)

Pessac, Quartiers Modernes Frugès: The camera goes from living room to living room, from yard to bath, kitchen to balcony, strolls through a typical day at the row houses built by Le Corbusier in the 20s. This film focuses on the question of how the residents have departed from Le Corbusier’s original concept in the intervening decades so that they feel at home within their own four walls.

Valldaura: A Quarantine Cabin(es)

A group of young architects, confined to a forest in Barcelona during the COVID crisis, explore the problems generated by the ambition of wanting to be completely self-sufficient.

Brasilia, Contradictions of a New City(pt)

In 1967, de Andrade was invited by the Italian company Olivetti to produce a documentary on the new Brazilian capital city of Brasília. Constructed during the latter half of the 1950s and founded in 1960, the city was part of an effort to populate Brazil’s vast interior region and was to be the embodiment of democratic urban planning, free from the class divisions and inequalities that characterize so many metropolises. Unsurprisingly, Brasília, Contradições de uma Cidade Nova (Brasília, Contradictions of a New City, 1968) revealed Brasília to be utopic only for the wealthy, replicating the same social problems present in every Brazilian city. (Senses of Cinema)

The Real Thing(fr)

A smaller scale Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysées can be found just outside Shanghai; a copy of St. Peter’s in Rome can be found in Yamoussoukro, in the Ivory Coast: a journey over three continents to see the architecture of imitation, the uncanny world of the fake.

The Architect: A Montford Point Marine(en)

In this dynamic and dramatic short film, an African American veteran takes us on an extraordinary journey through his life. From a chance visit to the Pentagon, to growing up in a vibrant integrated neighborhood, his story is one of resilience and inspiration. Fueled by the determination to seize educational opportunities, he enlists just in time to experience the racial divisions of his era before Truman desegregates the military. Thrust into the brutality of the Korean War, the weight of combat becomes an indelible part of his soul. Returning home, he embarks on a new path as an architect and discovers unexpected connections in far-off Pakistan. As his family expands, his sons reflect on the man who raised them and the legacy he instilled. This film unearths the essence of the Black experience in the early 20th century, paints a vivid portrait of the Chosin Reservoir, and unravels the intricate tapestry of race, family, and personal growth.

Twilight City(en)

A fictional letter from a daughter, Olivia, to her mother in Dominica is the narrative thread connecting interviews from (predominantly) black and Asian cultural critics, historians and journalists. The choice of occupation for the daughter, a researcher, perhaps strains the narrative conceit too far. Nevertheless, for an avowedly political documentary the result is absorbing.

Mitterrand, président culturel(fr)

On the occasion of the fourty years anniversary of François Mitterand's election, a look back to the relationship between the President and artists, from admiration to manipulation.

Lucky(en)

Lucky, an undocumented immigrant, struggles to make his way in New York but finds himself caught in a web of crime and murder, forcing him to take extreme action.

Return Return Return(es)

Fantastic Return to Oz(ru)

A year to the day after Dorothy and the people of the Emerald City defeated Urfin Jus, the villain is trying to exact his revenge. To command the army of Carraci, however, Urfin needs not only the magic book, but also Dorothy’s silver slippers. The slippers are safely hidden away in Dorothy’s house. Unfortunately, Dorothy’s guest, Tim, is overcome by curiosity and picks up the shoes, accidentally transporting himself, Dorothy and the slippers to the Land of Oz. The Emerald City and its citizens are in danger once again.

Hit Man Returns - David Foster & Friends(en)

Hitman Returns was filmed before a sold out crowd last year at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The lineup of talent, lead by Foster as maestro of ceremonies, includes performances by Seal, Donna Summer, Martina McBride, Earth, Wind & Fire, Natalie Cole, Ruben Studdard, All-4-One,'Glee' star Charice, Chaka Khan, Jackie Evancho, Lara Fabian and other artists whose careers have been touched by Foster, a 15-time Grammy winning producer and songwriter.

The Return(en)

The Return is a 2016 documentary directed by Emmy Award winning director Erich Joiner chronicling Ford GT's return to 24 Hours of Le Mans after their 1966 1-2-3 victory.

Return to Horror Hotel(en)

Return to Horror Hotel is an anthology feature with 4 segments. One is about giant a bedbugs, one is about a magical charm that turns girls beautiful, one is about a WWII sailor who hasn't aged and one is about a terrorizing severed hand.

The Return(en)

Two young children and an adult in a small town have an encounter with an alien spaceship. 25 years later the children are reunited as adults in the same town which is now beset by strange cattle mutilations. Matters become worse when the cattle mutilations are joined by human murders and mutilations.

Return to... Return to Nuke 'Em High aka Vol. 2(en)

Following the events of Volume 1, the mutated glee club continue their violent rampage in Tromaville. Chrissy and Lauren, two innocent lesbian lovers, must fight not only the Cretins, mutants, and monsters but also the evil Tromorganic Foodstuffs Conglomerate. Can they, and Kevin the Wonder Duck, save Tromaville High School and the world?

Return(en)

A girl is at school. Suddenly it's as if she can't breathe. As she runs down the stairs we follow her into her mind. It takes us deep into dark woods.

Krampus: The Return(en)

After Lisa's brother mysteriously dies, she and her college friends go to her family home for answers. They are shocked to discover that his killer was non-other than the Christmas demon, Krampus.

Time Travel Is Dangerous!(en)

Best friends Ruth and Megan run a vintage shop in North London. One day, their lives are forever turned upside down when an abandoned time machine appears outside their shop. Mixing reality with fantasy, we explore the strange and outlandish world of The Unreason, as the girls traverse space and time sourcing items to sell.

Meet the Mayor(en)

A new piazza proposed for Leicester market is met by public opposition. This is a city described by one local historian as unromantic, so what do the developers expect?

Return with Honor(en)

Rowe McDonald is a headstrong missionary who has life after his mission all figured out. When a fatal car crash interrupts his plans, he is given sixty days to return to life and finish his work. Now he must choose whether to lead the life he planned, or reach beyond himself to change the lives of others. What will he do? Who will he touch? How will he prepare to leave it all behind?

L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies: Return to Savage Beach(en)

A stolen computer disk contains the location of a hidden tresaure trove. It's up to the sexy ladies of LETHAL (Legion to Ensure Total Harmony and Law) to find the treasure before the bad guys do.

The Real Thing(fr)

A smaller scale Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysées can be found just outside Shanghai; a copy of St. Peter’s in Rome can be found in Yamoussoukro, in the Ivory Coast: a journey over three continents to see the architecture of imitation, the uncanny world of the fake.

The Leviathan(en)

A short animated film produced as a proof-of-concept for a proposed live-action feature about 22nd century prisoners forced to perform the dangerous labor of harvesting exotic matter from the eggs of the largest species mankind has ever seen.

With a Right to Kill(da)

This documentary looks at the Danish resistance movement's execution of 400 informers during the Nazi occupation and the ensuing cover-up.

Mystery of the Megavolcano(en)

Join "Nova" science detectives as they journey to Southeast Asia to reveal details of one of Earth's most destructive volcanic events. Known as the Toba eruption, this cataclysmic explosion that occurred 75,000 years ago is considered one of the most devastating natural occurrences in history. Watch scientists reconstruct this monstrous catastrophe as they ponder the fragile nature of Earth's crust and the power of the magma within its core.

Hello Zindagi(en)

She (Mrunmayee Lagoo) has posters of Jim Morrison and Bob Marley on her walls: rather belated icons for someone her age. She stuffs her drawer with Kama Sutra condoms, and keeps her room locked from parents. During the day, she goes out shoplifting, when not discussing men. The fakeness of cool fries your brains up. On a random night-out — “Can we go to the disc tonight?” — a stranger offers her a drink. She gulps it down. On another night at a club, upset with her friends, she meets the same fellow again — “Come on, we shall have a nice drink! Let’s dance… Just relax. Just take a chill pill.” She snorts coke, gets hammered; few days later, even moves out of her parents’.