Ben Building: Mussolini, Monuments and Modernism

Hospedaria(pt)

An old hostel, located in the center of Porto, served for many years as a hostel for people with few possessions, prostitutes and people passing through who made that place a more or less prolonged residence.

Die Bauten Adolf Hitlers(en)

Nazi Third Reich propaganda film that used architecture as a statement about "racial accomplishment," and so called "racial superiority." Hitler claimed that between 1934 and 1940, the Nazi rule of Germany had produced architectural uniqueness, and this film was produced to shown to attempt to validate that. The opening montage gives a survey of earlier Gothic and Baroque structures in the country as an example of "architectural superiority" that the German race was said to be the sole inventor of; then moves on to deride the recent construction of the Bauhaus school (with a racially motivated score of Jazz music) and an example of German "architectural decay." Then proceeds to show off buildings constructed by the Nazi and an architectural revival, to "last 1000 years," Film also spends a great of time dwelling on massive and "busy" monuments that had been erected all over the county.

La mia bandiera - La resistenza al femminile(it)

From the West(de)

A film essay investigating the question of what “the West” means beyond the cardinal direction: a model of society inscribed itself in the Federal Republic of Germany’s postwar history and architecture. The narrator shifts among reflections on modern architecture and property relations, detailed scenes from childhood, and a passed-down memory of a “hemmed-in West Germany,” recalling the years of her parents’ membership in a 1970s communist splinter group.

Berlin Babylon(de)

A documentary focusing on the rebuilding projects in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Spanish Civil War(en)

Documentary series which uses film and eyewitness accounts from both sides of the conflict that divided Spain in the years leading up to World War Two, also placing it in its international context.

Dicktatorship(it)

A documentary in which Luca Ragazzi and Gustav Hofer research the origins of sexism in the west and in Italy, the land of Berlusconi, Mussolini and Casanova, a nation with 887 words to say "penis".

Clean Lines, Open Spaces: A View of Mid-Century Modern Architecture(en)

"Clean Lines, Open Spaces: A View of Mid-Century Modern Architecture" focuses on the construction boom in the United States after World War II. Sometimes considered cold and unattractive, mid-century modern designs were a by-product of post-war optimism and reflected a nation's dedication to building a new future. This new architecture used modern materials such as reinforced concrete, glass and steel and was defined by clean lines, simple shapes and unornamented facades.

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)

The Untold Story of the Vatican(fr)

What started as a simple tomb became over a 2,000 years history the universal seat of Christendom and is today one of the most visited museum in the world with invaluable collections of Arts, Manuscripts, Maps. Using spectacular 3D modelisation and CGI to give viewers as never before a true understanding of the history of this architectural masterpiece and its extensions, the film will also use animation to tell relevant historical events. This heritage site reveals new untold secrets with the help of historians deciphering the Vatican’s rich archives and manuscripts collection and following the restorations at work (newly discovered frescoes by Raphael) and recent excavations. A story where Religion, Politics, Arts and Science meet to assert religious authority and serve as a spiritual benchmark.

Son of Torum(et)

In the same vein as Meri's other documentations, this one takes advantage of the glasnost policy to discuss the social and ecologic impact of the Russian oil industry on the natives and the lands they inhabit.

Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's challenge(fr)

Combining real footage, archival footage, fiction and 3D modeling, this unseen documentary traces the history of this spectacular and unfinished work.

A ház(hu)

City Dreamers(en)

Urban architecture as seen through the eyes of four female veterans in the field.

The Truth lies in Rostock(de)

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)

A Life's Work(en)

What’s it like to dedicate your life to work that won’t be completed in your lifetime? Fifteen years ago, filmmaker David Licata focused on four projects and the people behind them in an effort to answer this universal question.

Donna: Women in Revolt(nl)

The story of those Italian women who, for eighty years, have fought against power in all its forms.

Czechoslovak Architecture 58–89(cs)

Vladimir 518, uncompromising rapper, artist, stage designer and activist, is a rare phenomenon, who not only writes books, but publishes them as well. Today also a respected authority primarily on pre-1989 architecture, he has written not only a major publication on the subject, but also the story for two audiovisual works treating the same theme, which were shot by Jan Zajíček, renowned director of music videos. In addition to the recent TV series we have the eagerly anticipated feature-length film which, through its fascinating and impressive exploration of Czech and Slovak architecture of the latter half of the 20th century, offers exclusive insight into extraordinary buildings and unique individuals living below the Tatra Mountains. Karel Och (kviff.com)

La via della Conciliazione(it)

Everyone knows the view of Via della Conciliazione with St. Peter's Basilica framed behind it. The most famous postcard of Rome, the background used by correspondents all over the world. Few know that this street hasn't always been there, and in fact shouldn't have been from the premises.

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.

Re-Elected(en)

Friends battle former U.S. presidents when they come back from the dead as zombies on the Fourth of July.

Black Sheep(en)

When dignified Albert Donnelly runs for Governor, his team moves to keep his slow-witted and klutzy younger brother, Mike, out of the eye of the media. To baby-sit Mike, the campaign assigns sarcastic Steve, who gets the experience of a lifetime when he tries to take Mike out of town during the election.

She Devils of the SS(de)

In the last days of WW2, women are volunteering from all over Germany to serve in the front lines by having sex with the brave Nazi soldiers. But when they start having sex with each other, things get complicated. Especially with the increasing danger from the revengeful Soviet army!

Senso(it)

A troubled and neurotic Italian Countess betrays her entire country for a self-destructive love affair with an Austrian Lieutenant.

Father of the Bride(en)

Proud father Stanley Banks remembers the day his daughter, Kay, got married. Starting when she announces her engagement through to the wedding itself, we learn of all the surprises and disasters along the way.

Clash by Night(en)

An embittered woman seeks escape in marriage, only to fall for her husband’s best friend.

g(en)

A disgruntled couple sets on a road trip, as the boyfriend is hiding something mysterious from his girlfriend. The suspicion grows bigger when she begins to fear her boyfriends next move.

The Whip and the Body(it)

Disowned in the past by his father, Kurt Menliff, a cruel and sadistic nobleman, returns to the family castle to reclaim his inheritance.

The Concorde... Airport '79(en)

Aviation disaster-prone Joe Patroni must contend with nuclear missiles, the French Air Force and the threat of the plane splitting in two over the Alps.

The Swimmer(en)

A man spends a summer day swimming home via all the pools in his quiet suburban neighborhood.

Storytelling(en)

College and high school serve as the backdrop for two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil.

Il Posto(it)

With his family mired in financial troubles, Domenico moves to Milan, Italy, from his small town to get a job in lieu of furthering his education. A lack of options forces him to take a position as a messenger at a big company, where he hopes to receive a promotion soon. There, Domenico meets Antonietta, a young woman in a similar situation as himself. The two form a tentative relationship, but the soulless nature of their jobs threatens to keep them apart.

12(xx)

An old Finnish athlete travels alone through eastern Europe with his van.

Mater and the Ghostlight(en)

Mater, the rusty but trusty tow truck from Cars, spends a day in Radiator Springs playing scary pranks on his fellow townsfolk. That night at Flo's V8 Café, the Sheriff tells the story of the legend of the Ghostlight, and as everyone races home Mater is left alone primed for a good old-fashioned scare.

Simon of the Desert(es)

Simon, a deeply religious man living in the 4th century, wants to be nearer to God so he climbs a column. The Devil wants him come down to Earth and is trying to seduce him.

Lake Placid 2(en)

Man-eating crocodiles return to the lake as two males and one aggressive female crocodile, which is protecting her nest, wreak havoc on the locals.

'R Xmas(en)

A New York drug dealer is kidnapped, and his wife must try to come up with the money and drugs to free him from his abductors before Christmas.

Diary of a Chambermaid(fr)

Celestine has a new job as a chambermaid for the quirky M. Monteil, his wife and her father. When the father dies, Celestine decides to quit her job and leave, but when a young girl is raped and murdered, Celestine believes that the Monteils' groundskeeper, Joseph, is guilty, and stays on in order to prove it. She uses her sexuality and the promise of marriage to get Joseph to confess -- but things do not go as planned.

Toto and the Kings of Rome(it)

An aging, down-and-out public employee must face the primary school examination.