Architecture and Design Film Festival

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  1. Architecture and Design Film Festival

From May 5 through May 9, the Gene Siskel Film Center collaborates with the Architecture and Design Film Festival to present the nation’s largest film festival celebrating the creative spirit behind some of the world’s most remarkable architecture and design. The film line-up runs the gamut from feature-length films to rare documentaries and prize-winning shorts. The festival also features Q&A's and panel discussions with leading architects and designers from around the world.

For further information on films and festival events, please visit www.adfilmfest.com.

Please note: Some screenings are being held at theWit Hotel, 201 N. State Street, as indicated in the listings below.

—Kyle Bergman & Laura Cardello
  Festival Directors

HOW MUCH DOES YOUR BUILDING WEIGH, MR. FOSTER?

  • Opening Night Film

Showtimes

Thu, May 5th at 8:15pm
Thu, May 5th at 8:30pm
Mon, May 9th at 8:15pm

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Opening Night Film!

  1. HOW MUCH DOES YOUR BUILDING WEIGH, MR. FOSTER?
  1. 2010, Carlos Carcas & Norberto López Amado, UK, 78 min.

This profile of celebrated British architect Norman Foster begins with a building that comes to life. As the film unfolds, the human presence--the woman--and the architecture begin to merge. HDCAM video. (ADFF)

Also playing at theWit:

Thursday, May 5, 8:45 pm

MILTON GLASER: TO INFORM AND DELIGHT

Showtimes

Fri, May 6th at 3:00pm

Tickets

Average: 4 (1 vote)

Program 2: Graphically Speaking

  1. MILTON GLASER: TO INFORM AND DELIGHT
  1. 2008, Wendy Keys, USA, 73 min.

A documentary portrait of American graphic designer Glaser, best known for the I♥NY campaign and co-founding New York Magazine. HDCAM video. Preceded by STEFAN SAGMEISTER: ARTIST SERIES (2005, Hillman Curtis, USA, 5 min.) and PAULA SCHER: ARTIST SERIES (2008, Hillman Curtis, USA, 7 min.). (ADFF)

Also playing at theWit:

Sunday, May 8, 7:30 pm

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Oh Canada!

Showtimes

Sun, May 8th at 1:00pm

Tickets

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Program 3

  1. Oh Canada!
  1. 2008-09, Various directors, Canada/USA, 107 min.

CITIZEN LAMBERT: JOAN OF ARCHITECTURE (2009, Teri Wehn-Damisch, Canada, 52 min.) offers a unique glimpse into the world of renowned Canadian architect Phyllis Bronfman Lambert. DigiBeta video. Preceded by WILDERNESS UTOPIA (2008, Terence Gower, USA, 3 min.) and TWICE UPON A GARDEN (2009, Philippe Baylaucq, Canada, 52 min.). (ADFF)

Also playing at theWit:

Friday, May 6, 7:15 pm

CONTEMPORARY DAYS: THE DESIGNS OF LUCIENNE AND ROBIN DAY

Showtimes

Sat, May 7th at 3:00pm

Tickets

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Program 4: Two to Tango

  1. CONTEMPORARY DAYS:
  2. THE DESIGNS OF LUCIENNE
  3. AND ROBIN DAY
  1. 2010, Murray Grigor, USA, 77 min.

Robin and Lucienne Day transformed British design after World War II with striking furniture and textiles that signaled a new era of modernist sensibilities for everyday living. HDCAM video. Preceded by ONION PINCH BAROQUE COUNTERPOISE (2008, Caterina Tiazzoldi, Italy, 3 min.) and THE ALUMINIUM CHAIR (2009, Eames Demetrios, USA, 5 min.). (ADFF)

Also playing at theWit:

Sunday, May 8, 3:15 pm

SPACE, LAND AND TIME: UNDERGROUND ADVENTURES WITH ANT FARM

Showtimes

Fri, May 6th at 9:00pm
Sun, May 8th at 5:30pm

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Program 5: Renegade Redux

  1. SPACE, LAND AND TIME:
  2. UNDERGROUND ADVENTURES
  3. WITH ANT FARM
  1. 2010, Elizabeth Federici and Laura Harrison, USA, 78 min.

This is the first film to consider the work of the 1970s architecture collective Ant Farm, best known for its iconic land-art piece, Cadillac Ranch. DigiBeta video. Preceded by LEFT BEHIND (2005, Monika Koeck, UK, 4 min.) and SUBVERSIVE ARCHITECTS (2004, Dan Edelstyn, USA, 5 min.). (ADFF)

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Enduring Icons

Showtimes

Fri, May 6th at 5:00pm
Sat, May 7th at 1:00pm

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Program 6

  1. Enduring Icons
  1. 2009-10, Various directors, USA, 85 min.

VINCENT SCULLY: AN ART HISTORIAN AMONG ARCHITECTS (2010, Edgar B. Howard and Tom Piper, USA, 56 min.) is a portrait of probably the best-known living American art historian. HDCAM video. Preceded by KIMBELL MUSEUM, WATER AND SKY (2010, Ultan Guilfoyle, USA, 4 min.) and SAVING LIEB HOUSE (2009, Jim Venturi, USA, 25 min.). (ADFF)

VISUAL ACOUSTICS

Showtimes

Sun, May 8th at 6:45pm

Tickets

Average: 4 (1 vote)

Program 7: Poetry in Motion

  1. VISUAL ACOUSTICS
  1. 2009, Eric Bricker, USA, 83 min.

Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, VISUAL ACOUSTICS celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the world’s greatest architectural photographer. HDCAM video. Preceded by STARLIGHT (2006, Adam Goss and Red Mike, USA, 3 min.) and LA PETITE MAISON, AN ARCHITECTURAL SEDUCTION (2009, Tânia Moreira David and Charlotte Skene Catling, UK, 10 min.). (ADFF)

Also playing at theWit:

Friday, May 6, 9:15 pm

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Amped & Revamped!

Showtimes

Fri, May 6th at 7:00pm
Sat, May 7th at 5:30pm

Tickets

Average: 5 (1 vote)

Program 8

  1. Amped & Revamped!
  1. 2008-10, Various directors, Denmark/USA, 81 min.

MY PLAYGROUND (2010, Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Denmark, 50 min.) explores the way Parkour and Freerunning are changing the perception of urban space. In Danish with English subtitles. HDCAM video. Preceded by DUMPSTER POOLS (2009, Kelly Loudenberg, USA, 5 min.), and THE ART & SCIENCE OF RENZO PIANO (2008, Beth Levison, USA, 26 min.). (ADFF)

Thinking Big

Showtimes

Sun, May 8th at 1:00pm
Mon, May 9th at 6:00pm

Tickets

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Program 9

  1. Thinking Big
  1. 1967-2010, Various directors, USA, 88 min.

THE MAKING OF THE BIENNALE WITH AARON BETSKY (2008, Stephen Natanson, USA, 52 min.) follows architect/author/curator/director Betsky behind the scenes at the 11th Venice Architecture Biennale. Preceded by MONUMENT TO A DREAM (1967, Charles Guggenheim, USA, 28 min.) and ST. LOUIS CAN SOAR (2010, Adam Goss and Red Mike, USA, 8 min.). (ADFF)

CITIZEN ARCHITECT: SAMUEL MOCKBEE AND THE SPIRIT OF THE RURAL STUDIO

Showtimes

Sun, May 8th at 8:45pm

Tickets

Average: 4 (6 votes)

Program 10: Design/Build

  1. CITIZEN ARCHITECT:
  2. SAMUEL MOCKBEE AND
  3. THE SPIRIT OF THE
  4. RURAL STUDIO
  1. 2010, Sam Wainwright Douglas, USA, 60 min.

Impoverished Hale County, Alabama, is home to Auburn University’s Rural Studio, the prolific and inspirational design-build outreach program founded by the late Samuel Mockbee. HDCAM video. Preceded by HEADSPACE 1 (2010, Stanislav Roudavski, Australia, 4 min.). (ADFF)

Also playing at theWit:

Saturday, May 7, 7:30 pm

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Tower Power!

Showtimes

Sat, May 7th at 9:00pm
Sun, May 8th at 4:45pm

Tickets

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Program 11

  1. Tower Power!
  1. 2007-09, Various directors, Various nations, 84 min.

THE DESERT CASTLE (2008, Eirin Gjørv, Norway, 55 min.) details groundbreaking architectural challenges in the Arab sands of Ras Al Khaimah. In Norwegian with English subtitles. Beta SP video. Preceded by FLOWER TOWER, EDOUARD FRANÇOIS (2007, Pavillon de l’Arsenal, France, 2 min.) and STUDIO GANG ARCHITECTS: AQUA TOWER (2009, Edgar B. Howard and Tom Piper, USA, 27 min., HDCAM video). (ADFF)

MALLS R US

Showtimes

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Program 12: Public/Private

  1. MALLS R US
  1. 2008, Helene Klodawsky, USA, 78 min.

Combining nostalgia, dazzling architecture, pop culture, economics, and politics, MALLS R US examines North America’s most popular and profitable suburban destination. HDCAM video. Preceded by BIG BROTHER BRITAIN (2009, Bertan Cakgoz, UK, 4 min.) and CASTRUM (2009, Angelo Grasso, Italy, 7 min.). (ADFF)

Playing at theWit:

Friday, May 6, 5:15 pm
Sunday, May 8, 5:15 pm

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Down Under & Up

Showtimes

Sun, May 8th at 3:00pm

Tickets

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Program 13

  1. Down Under & Up
  1. 2007-10, Various directors, Various nations, 82 min.

43 COLUMNS ON SCENE IN BILBAO (2010, Leonardo Baraldi and Eleonora Sarasin, Italy, 52 min.) is the story of 43 columns designed by Philippe Starck for Alhóndiga Bilbao, the new cultural center of the Basque city. In Spanish and Italian with English subtitles. IXM video. Preceded by PETER STUTCHBURY, ARCHITECTURE OF PLACE (2009, Bruce Inglis, Australia, 28 min., DigiBeta video) and LE MONDE, CHRISTIAN DE PORTZAMPARC (2007, Pavillon de l’Arsenal, France, 2 min.). (ADFF)

Also playing at theWit:

Saturday, May 7, 3:15 pm

EYE OVER PRAGUE

Showtimes

Fri, May 6th at 4:00pm
Sat, May 7th at 5:00pm

Tickets

Average: 5 (2 votes)

Program 14: Adding Color

  1. EYE OVER PRAGUE
  1. 2010, Olga Spátová, Czech Republic, 78 min.

EYE OVER PRAGUE is the extraordinary tale of visionary architect Jan Kaplicky and the petty political gamesmanship that denied him his crowning achievement. In Czech with English subtitles. Preceded by WHITE BOX (2010, Makoto Yabuki, Japan, 4 min.). Both in HDCAM video. (ADFF)

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ANTWERP CENTRAL

  • Closing Night Film

Showtimes

Sat, May 7th at 7:00pm
Mon, May 9th at 8:00pm

Tickets

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Closing night film!
Program 15

  1. ANTWERP CENTRAL
  1. 2011, Peter Krüger, Belgium, 93 min.

Director Krüger approaches Antwerp Central Railway Station as a magical realistic location where present and past, history and daily life, fiction and reality are in constant flux. In Dutch and English with English subtitles. HDCAM video. (ADFF)

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HOW MUCH DOES YOUR BUILDING WEIGH, MR. FOSTER?

Showtimes

Sun, Nov 27th at 3:15pm
Wed, Nov 30th at 6:15pm

Tickets

Average: 4 (1 vote)
  1. HOW MUCH DOES YOUR BUILDING WEIGH, MR. FOSTER?
  1. 2010, Carlos Carcas &
  2. Norberto López Amado, UK, 78 min.

"Hugely enjoyable."
—Philip French, The Observer

"Pure architectural porn...a visually striking tribute to an intrepid social utopian."
—David Parkinson, Empire

The career of British architect Norman Foster is studded with triumphs including Terminal 3 at the Beijing airport, Berlin’s Reichstag, the Hearst Building in New York, the Millau Viaduct in France, and London’s wittily nicknamed “Gherkin.” This visually lively profile of the “Mozart of modernism” explores Foster’s career trajectory, his dreams (the occasional inspiration for his designs), and his philosophy of sustainability, noting the influence of his longtime hero Buckminster Fuller, whose provocative question prompted the title for this film. HDCAM video. (BS)

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