The Architecture Film Festival London is excited to present its third festival edition, which will take place from 2–27 June 2021. Since its first edition, the Architecture Film Festival London has aimed to discover and promote original ideas, conversations and art forms at the intersection of Architecture + Film. Considering the current situation in the UK and abroad, this year’s festival will be held online, offering a combination of ticketed, free and off-line content.
The 2021 iteration will offer a programme that caters to private spaces and communal fascinations, all without stealing needed off-screen time, but rather enriching it. With this purpose in mind, our programme will present two main sections: the International Film Competition and a collection of diverse, thematic screenings, essays and events entitled “Capsules.”
The programme innovation for this year’s festival is the “Capsules” section, which aims to give space to multiple curatorial voices by releasing them from a single, binding festival theme. Each Capsule follows a similar format, incorporating a varied mix of films, essays, photography, drawing, interviews, music, podcasts and other materials. These programmes combine quality content with reduced screen time and the possibility of enjoying offline content in a printable format. Ticketed and free access programme available.
Capsule programmers include, among others, Manuel Toledo-Otaegui, Agata Murasko, J. English Cook and Charlotte Skene Catling. Programmes feature a range of topics, including: a number of works by filmmaking duo Bêka & Lemoine; selected winners’ shorts from the TRANSFER Global Architecture Platform’s Architecture Video Award, presented with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in the United Kingdom; student works from the Diploma 16 group at the Architectural Association, taught by Ila Bêka, Louise Lemoine, and Gili Merin; and student works from the PG24 course at The Bartlett School of Architecture, taught by Penelope Haralambidou and Michael Tite, with Keiichi Matsuda. Ticketed and free access programme available.
The Capsule dedicated to the works of Bêka & Lemoine will feature the UK premiere of Homo Urbanus (2018), a cinematic odyssey offering a vibrant tribute to a form of architecture that is often neglected: the public square. Homo Urbanus’s 10-films-piece will be available over the course of two weekends (June 12–13 & June 19–20). Ticketed programme.
Also included is a screening of the film An Engineer Imagines (2018), a cinematic homage to Peter Rice, one of the most distinguished engineers of the late 20th century. Tracing Rice's extraordinary life and career, from his Dundalk childhood to his work on the Sydney Opera House, The Pompidou Centre and the Lloyd's Building to his untimely death in 1992, director Marcus Robinson uses stunning time-lapse photography and revealing interviews to tell the story of a genius who stood in the shadow of architectural icons. This screening is made possible with kind support by Arup. June 6, 19.00hrs. Free access. Registration needed.
The festival’s International Film Competition [OPEN CALL] received over 270 submissions from 40 countries worldwide, competing for awards across six different categories. From this group, 18 shortlisted films will be featured during the festival, and awarded films will be announced in an online ceremony on June 25, 2021.
Shortlisted films include the following: in the Documentary section, Not Just Roads (2020, dir. Nitin Bathla and Klearjos Eduardo Papanicolaou), On a Clear Day You Can See the Revolution From Here (2020, dir. Emma Charles and Ben Evans James) and The Proposal (2018, dir. Jill Magid); in the Fiction Short section, Landing (2018, dir. Shirin Sabahi), Live In Cloud-Cuckoo Land (2020, dir. Vu Minh Nghia and Pham Hoang Minh Thy) and The Tower of a Forgotten India (2019, dir. Uday Berry); in the Experimental Short section, Bab Sebta (2019, dir. Randa Maroufi), Kopacabana (2019, dir. Khalil Charif and Marcos Bonisson) and Secluded Stillness (2018, dir. Miguel C. Tavares and Tiago Costa); in the New Media section, Dialogic Machines (2020, dir. Thomas Parker), Humanitas Ex Machina [humanity from the machine] (2020, dir. Kanto Maeda and Uwais Hafizal) and The Third Space: Inhabitable Interfaces (2020, dir. Krina Christopoulou); in the Commercial Short section, The Modern House: Nithurst Farm (2020, dir. Edward Bishop and Jim Stephenson), Site Specific: Parnell Square (2020, dir. Bonnie Dempsey) and Tadao Ando Campus + Tower (2020, dir. Hans Georg Esch); and, in parallel with the theme of the London Festival of Architecture, in the Care section, 13 Square Meters (2021, dir. Kamil Bembnista and Ayham Dalal), Ciutat de Granada 145-147-149 (2020, dir. Alex Sarda) and El Caso de la Carne (2020, dir. Valeria Meiller & Agustin Schang). For all screening dates, please check our website. Ticketed programme.
Film submissions addressed a variety of topics related to contemporary architecture. In particular, the role of housing—from the history of housing estates to the current global housing crisis—was a prominent theme. This critical topic will thus provide the basis for the festival’s opening film, Push (2019), directed by Fredrik Gertten. After the screening of Push on Wednesday, 2 June, a Q&A with several of the film’s key protagonists, filmmakers, and relevant experts will take place, including Leilani Farha, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing and Global Director of The Shift, and Fredrik Gertten.
Organized in tandem with this theme, a special Capsule split between two programmes of thematic shorts will similarly highlight the import of contemporary housing discussions. These conversations will culminate with the festival’s closing film, the world premiere of Shelter Without Shelter (2019) by Mark E Breeze and Tom Scott-Smith.
Special film events include the UK premiere of The New Bauhaus (2019, dir. Alysa Nahmias), a film dedicated to the vibrant life and legacy of the artist László Moholy-Nagy. Afterwards, the festival will host a discussion on the film, featuring guest speakers Alysa Nahmias, Rebecca Ross, Joyce Tsai and Ines Weizman and moderated by Dr Robin Schuldenfrei from The Courtauld Institute of Art in London. June 9, 19.00hrs. Ticketed programme.
The programme also includes a screening of the recent film Aalto (2020, dir. Virpi Suutari), which highlights the life and work of one of the greatest modern architects, Alvar Aalto, and his love stories and collaborations with his two wives, Aino and Elissa. Aalto will be streamed in partnership with the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland between 1–7 June, with a special Q&A on 4 June with the film’s director, Virpi Suutari, Professor Harry Charrington, architect and Head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Westminster, and Charlotte Skene Catling, architect and director of Skene Catling de la Peña and co-founder of the Architecture Film Festival London, who will moderate. June 4, 19.00hrs. Free event. Registration needed. Only available for the UK.
The Architecture Film Festival London 2021 is happy to partner with the following organisations: LFA2021 - London Festival of Architecture; The Embassy of Switzerland in London; Arup; Arup Phase 2; The Finnish Institute in The UK and Ireland; The Japan Foundation London; and Transfer Global Architecture Platform.
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Architecture FilmFestival LondonType
Festival / BiennialOrganizers
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June 02, 2021 07:00 PMUntil
June 27, 2021 09:30 PMVenue
OnlineAddress