Architecture & Design Film Festival

The nation's largest festival dedicated to celebrating the creative spirit that drives architecture and design returns to Chicago beginning today through the 16th at the Music Box Theater on the city's north side. The Festival features a U.S. premier and 12 Chicago premiers.

The director of the festival, Kyle Bergman visited ABC7 to talk about five featured films at the festival.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN FILM FESTIVAL (ADFF)
RETURNS TO CHICAGO APRIL 12-16, 2012
AT THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE

Featuring New Line Up of 31 Films From 13 Countries, Panel Discussions, Talk-backs

CHICAGO (March 5, 2012) – Now in its third year, the Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF), the nation's largest film festival dedicated to celebrating the creative spirit that drives architecture and design, returns to Chicago at the iconic Music Box Theatre (3733 North Southport Avenue), April 12- 16, 2012, with a completely new showcase of feature length films, documentaries and shorts. The five-day festival presents a fascinating line-up of 31 films from 13 countries, plus lively discussions with exceptional filmmakers, architects, designers and industry leaders. Tickets for the Architecture & Design Film Festival go on-sale Friday, March 9, 2012 at 10 a.m.

The Architecture & Design Film Festival is the nation's largest film festival celebrating the creative spirit behind some of the world's most remarkable architecture and design. The films, which feature a U.S. premiere and 12 Chicago premieres, profile visionary architects, the creative design process, environmental issues and the brilliant designs that we see and use every day. The program includes conversations with filmmakers, architects and designers to stimulate discussions about the art of design.

"There is a natural connection between film and architecture," explained Architect and ADFF Director, Kyle Bergman. "Designing a building and making a film are a similar process. Both require a balance between art and science, both tell stories and are labors of love."

ADFF kicks-off the 2012 festival with the Chicago premiere of Unfinished Spaces, a brilliant new film about the utopian fantasy that swept Cuba when Castro came to power and commissioned an arts school complex that was meant to be "the most beautiful" in the world. Ultimately, the buildings were left unfinished for more than 30 years and upended the careers of the three young architects who participated in the project. The Wall Street Journal described the festival's opening night film as "A fascinating tale of visionary aesthetics and sublime structures." Dwell Magazine praised the film as "One of the most engrossing architecture documentaries."

The U.S. premiere of Mission Statements, the architecture of Dutch Diplomacy, looks at how the Dutch have used their embassy architecture to export Dutch culture and values. Other Chicago premieres include the film ARCHITECT: A Chamber Opera in Six Scenes, inspired by the work of Louis I. Kahn (1902-1974), a major figure in twentieth-century architecture; Mendelsohn's Incessant Visions, a cinematic meditation about the untold story of Erich Mendelsohn whose life and career were as enigmatic and tragic as the path of the century he lived in; John Portman: A Life of Building, in which the world-renowned architect and developer John Portman's work is chronicled; Volume Zero: the work of Charles Correa which celebrates the architect, born in India and trained in the United States, whose award-winning architecture incorporates the philosophies of both Indian and American traditions; A Lioness Among Lions, about the world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid; Pool Party, which looks at the rise and fall and rise again of Brooklyn's hipster haven, Williamsburg, with a focus on Robert Moses' famous city pools; and Architect of Dreams, a film on the maverick architect from New Zealand, Ian Athfield. The Festival also will screen two films with a focus on some unique sustainable strategies, Biophilic Design: The Architecture of Life and Passive Passion.

Additionally, ADFF will host a series of lively panel discussions with some of today's design elite on select dates April 13 – 15. All panel discussions, as well as an evening of pecha-kucha on Friday, April 13, will be free of charge for festival attendees. CEU credits are available for many of the festival's programs.

Following last year's popular success, Audi, the festival's official automotive sponsor, will invite festival attendees to take a half-hour architectural driving tours. Tours will be offered on the half-hour on April 14-15. For more information on how to sign-up for the driving tours, visit www.adfilmfest.com.

Last fall's festival at Tribeca Cinemas was ADFF's largest event to date with more than 3,800 people attending the five-day event. The festival received rave reviews from industry leaders and architecture critics. "We loved seeing a series of stories about designers and places magnified through the medium of film," said Jeanne Gang, Architect and Principal of Studio Gang.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the Architecture and Design Film Festival go on-sale Friday, March 9, 2012 at 10 a.m., range in price $11/general admission, $9.50/American Institute of Architects members, $8/students, $90 Bakers Dozen (13 tickets), $45 Fistfull (5 tickets). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.adfilmfest.com, or in-person at the Music Box Theatre box office (3733 North Southport Avenue). The Music Box Theatre box office will open one hour prior to the first screening each day.

PHOTOS
Press photos are available for download online at www.adfilmfest.com/media.html.

For more information on the Architecture & Design Film Festival, visit www.adfilmfest.com.

The ADFF complete program is provided below.

THE ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM

Program 01 / OPENING NIGHT / Unfinished Spaces

• Unfinished Spaces, USA, 2011, 86 min [Feature] *Chicago Premiere
• Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 15 at 7 p.m.
• Q&A with Filmmaker Ben Murray
• Cuba's ambitious National Art Schools project, designed by three young artists in the wake of Castro's Revolution, is neglected, nearly forgotten, then ultimately rediscovered as a visionary architectural masterpiece. In 1961, three young architects were commissioned by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara to create Cuba's National Art Schools on the grounds of a former golf course in Havana, Cuba. Construction of their radical designs began immediately and the school's first classes soon followed. Unfinished Spaces features intimate footage of Fidel Castro, showing his devotion to creating a worldwide showcase for art, and it also documents the struggle and passion of three revolutionary artists. WATCH TRAILER

Program 02 / Mission Statements

• Mission Statements, Netherlands, 2011, 83 min [Feature] *U.S. Premiere
• American Homes, USA, 2010, 12 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• Friday, April 13, 2012 at 7:15 p.m. and Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 5 p.m.
• Q&A with Director/Architect Jord den Hollander
• In 1991, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands decided to promote national architecture abroad. All over the world, new embassies were realized by prominent Dutch architects. Mission Statements shows the background of the buildings and presents a stunning view behind the curtains of daily life in the embassies. Did the architecture really add to the diplomacy the Netherlands stand for? Mission Statements unveils the underestimated cultural aspect in international diplomacy and the misunderstanding that comes with it. WATCH TRAILER

Program 03 / ARCHITECT: A Chamber Opera in Six Scenes

• ARCHITECT: A Chamber Opera in Six Scenes, USA, 2011, 65 min [Feature] *Chicago Premiere
• TBA
• Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 5 p.m. and Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 3 p.m.
• Q&A on Saturday with Composer Jenny Kallick and Musician Michiko Theurer
• ARCHITECT was inspired by the work of Louis I. Kahn (1902-1974), a major figure in twentieth-century architecture. ARCHITECT is a meditation on creativity and the inner life of the creator. Events are set in motion by the Trickster god, Momus. The council of gods has expelled this impish minor deity down to earth, where he seeks to inspire mortals to create buildings.

Program 04 / Pool Party

• Pool Party USA, 2010, 75 min [Feature] *Chicago Premiere
• Gather Give Grow, USA, 3 min [Short]
• Friday, April 13, 2012 at 9:15 p.m. and Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 9 p.m.
• Pool Party is the surprising story of an abandoned swimming pool, the largest in New York City, which became the most significant music venue since CBGB's. Both an indie music showcase and an urban history lesson, Pool Party traces the process of gentrification of Williamsburg, Brooklyn through the story of McCarren Pool. WATCH TRAILER

Program 05 / The Pruitt-Igoe Myth

• The Pruitt-Igoe Myth, USA, 2011, 83 min [Feature]
• Mudgee Tower, Australia, 2010, 3 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• Friday, April 13, 2012 at 9 p.m. and Monday, April 16, 2012 at 7:15 p.m.
• The Pruitt-Igoe Myth tells the story of the transformation of the American city in the decades after World War II, through the lens of the infamous Pruitt-Igoe housing development and the St. Louis residents who called it home. The Pruitt-Igoe Myth seeks to set the historical record straight. To examine the interests involved in Pruitt-Igoe's creation. To re-evaluate the rumors and the stigma. To implode the myth. WATCH TRAILER

Program 06 / Volume Zero: The Work of Charles Correa

• Volume Zero: The Work of Charles Correa, India, 2008, 59 min [Feature] *Chicago Premiere
• Concrete Coast, Spain, 2009, 26 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 9 p.m.
• Having built prolifically in India, architect Charles Correa is less known in the west, but nevertheless has received the highest awards worldwide for his work. Born in India and trained in the United States, Correa's architecture incorporates the philosophies of both traditions. Although often austere and modern, Correa's work is never cold or alienating; it is based in the concerns of daily life, culture, and climate.

Program 07 / Lioness Among Lions - The Architect Zaha Hadid

• Lioness Among Lions - The architect Zaha Hadid, 2010, 52 min [Feature] *Chicago Premiere
• School #9 Coop Himmelb(l)au, Austria, 2011, 9 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• Studio Gang Architects: Columbia College Chicago MPC, USA, 2010, 3 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 7:15 and Monday, April 16, 2012 at 9 p.m. Winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2004 and the Praemium Imperiale in 2009, the English-Iraqi architect and designer Zaha Hadid (born in 1950) has long been controversial. This film spotlights a leading figure in deconstructivism and her visionary achievements around the world.

Program 08 / Architect of Dreams

• Architect of Dreams, New Zealand, 2009, 52 min [Feature] *Chicago Premiere
• Passive Passion, USA, 2011, 21 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• The Man Who Built My Childhood, Canada, 2008, 4 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• Friday, April 13, 2012 at 5:15 p.m. and Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 3 p.m.
• Ian Athfield's architectural designs dot the New Zealand landscape and are keenly sought after by home owners. Intelligent, outspoken, amusing, opinionated and passionate, Athfield, considered by many to be a maverick, is one of New Zealand's most influential creative figures who bring a unique vision in his practice of almost 40 years.

Program 09 / Detroit Wild City

• Detroit Wild City, France, 2010, 80 min [Feature]
• The Landfill, USA, 3 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• Friday, April 13, 2012 at 5 p.m. and Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 9:15 p.m. Florent Tillon's film begins with familiar but inevitably arresting images of Detroit's decay into post-apocalyptic pastoralism, but doesn't end there. While most cinematic pilgrims have portrayed the Motor City as a giant canvas onto which they project their outsider fantasies. A minimalist but intelligent travelogue that resists sensationalism, Detroit Wild City focuses on people rather than ruins. It suggests that while macronarratives may help us understand the past, micronarratives will describe the future, and Detroit's destiny will be the product of many individual, small-group and localized efforts. WATCH TRAILER

Program 10 / EAMES: The Architect and the Painter

• EAMES: The Architect and the Painter, USA, 2011, 82 min [Feature]
• Elephants on Safari, USA, 4 min
• Friday, April 13, 2012 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 7 p.m.
• The Architect and the Painter is the first film about Charles and Ray Eames since their deaths and the only film to peer inside their collaboration, their marriage and the "Renaissance studio" they created in a gritty warehouse in Venice, CA. Narrated by James Franco, the film draws from a trove of archival material, primarily the stunning films and photographs produced in mind-boggling volume by Charles, Ray, and their staff during the hyper-creative forty years of the Eames Office. WATCH TRAILER

Program 11 / John Portman: A Life of Building

• John Portman: A Life of Building, USA, 2011, 58 min [Feature] *Chicago Premiere
• Louis LeRoy - Endless Work in Time and Space, Netherlands, 2009, 14 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• Into the Garden of Glass and Steel, U.K., 2010, 14 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 3:15 p.m. Q&A with Filmmaker Ben Loeterman

Program 12 / The Gruen Effect: Victor Gruen and the Shopping Mall

• The Gruen Effect: Victor Gruen and the Shopping Mall, Austria, 2009, 50 min [Feature] *Chicago Premiere
• Three Walls, USA, 2011, 26 min [Short Documentary] *Chicago Premiere
• Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 3:15 p.m. and Monday, April 16, 2012 at 9:15 p.m.
• In The Gruen Effect, an architect's life, work, and critical humor become a means to make sense of the cities we live in today. The Viennese architect, Victor Gruen, is considered the father of the shopping mall. His ideas about urban planning, both influential and abused, have led to cities that serve the new gods of consumption. By tracing Gruen's path from prewar Vienna to 1950s America and back to Europe in 1968, the documentary explores the themes and mistranslations that have come to define urban life.

Program 13 / Biophilic Design: The Architecture of Life

• Biophilic Design: The Architecture of Life, USA, 2011, 60 min [Feature] *Chicago Premiere
• Minka, Japan, 2011, 16 min [Short Documentary] *Chicago Premiere
• Saturday, April 14 at 5:15 p.m. and Sunday, April 15 at 9:15 p.m. Biophilic Design is an innovative way of designing places. We need nature in a deep and fundamental fashion, but we have often designed in ways that both degrade the environment and alienate us from nature. WATCH TRAILER

Program 14 / Robert A.M. Stern: 15 Central Park West

• Robert A.M. Stern: 15 Central Park West and the History of the New York Apartment House, USA, 24 min *Chicago Premiere
• Up to the Sky – Hearst Tower, New York, Germany, 2009, 26 min *Chicago Premiere
• Public Farm 1, USA, 2010, 18 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• High Line Phase 2, USA, 2011, 6 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 5:15 p.m. and Monday, April 16, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
• Even during the Great Recession of 2008, one new apartment house in New York City continued to set the bar for real-estate prices: 15 Central Park West. Designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects, the lavish, limestone-clad structure from 61st to 62nd streets is arguably one of the most luxurious residential buildings to rise in the city in decades. Stern deliberately evokes the grand era of New York apartments designed in the 1920s and 1930s, especially the intricately planned architecture of Rosario Candela.

Program 15 / Mendelsohn's Incessant Visions

• Mendelsohn's Incessant Visions, Israel, 70 min [Feature] *Chicago Premiere
• South Pond, USA, 2010, 4 min [Short] *Chicago Premiere
• Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 7:15 p.m.
• This film is a cinematic meditation about the untold story of Erich Mendelsohn whose life and career were as enigmatic and tragic as the path of the century. Erich and Louise Mendelsohn have wondered between continents, between world wars, between success and failure. Award-winning filmmaker, Duki Dror (The Journey of Vaan Nguyen, Raging Dove), has created a spectacular interpretation based on Erich and Louise's relationship, for one of the most captivating chapters in the development of modern art. WATCH TRAILER