Brown vs. Brown is a New Zealand mid-century architectural film. Seen through the lens of filmmaker Simon Mark-Brown, son of the late architect Paul Mark-Brown, the documentary takes us on a whirlwind tour of New Zealand’s iconic mid-century era homes. An important look at the history of the country, it also explores the tensions between the regionalists and the internationalists; their differences and similarities. Brown sheds and white pavilions. Homegrown farm sheds and egalitarianism versus outward-looking spaces and new materials.

Greenhouse By Joost follows internationally renowned zero-waste campaigner Joost Bakker as he builds a self-sustaining home in Melbourne; an ecosystem that provides its occupants with food, water, shelter and energy. Each phase of construction offers an opportunity to investigate a different element of the house, from the timber, to the soil, to the compostable plastic wrap that protects the parts being delivered. Every detail of the build must live up to Bakker’s exacting standards; it must be recyclable, non-toxic and it must not generate any waste. As the build progresses, we meet the community Bakker is working with to make the project happen, from gardeners, to fish experts, architects to mushroom growers. Greenhouse By Joost is an uplifting look at the teamwork and ingenuity behind a paradigm-shifting project that may just satiate those hungry for a glimpse at a greener and more beautiful future.

PRECEDED BY the short, Tūrama (25min).

Unexpected Modernism is the story of Samuel G. Wiener and William B. Wiener—brothers with different mothers—who were raised by their business-minded father in Shreveport, Louisiana. Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, the siblings’ early work was fairly traditional but a 1920s visit to Europe’s Bauhaus design school inspired them to approach architecture with a more innovative and artist-led vision. Between them, they produced one of the earliest and largest clusters of modernist buildings in America, slowly turning their deep south hometown of Shreveport into a beacon of modern architecture.

PRECEDED BY the short, Te Rau Karamu (25min).

A World To Shape sees two young Dutch creatives, Nienke Hoogvliet (b. 1989) and Dave Hakkens (b. 1988), use design to tackle the some of the world’s biggest problems. Hoogvliet’s mission is to make our second most polluting industry—the clothing industry—more sustainable by working on applications of seaweed. Hakkens’ has bought nine hectares of land in Portugal with the goal of establishing a living and working community that uses a minimal carbon footprint. Entitled Kamp, the project is an open-source system with the blueprint available to adopt and improve upon if desired.

The World Is Out Of Focus sees director Iben Haahr Andersen introduce us to four female photographers—Else Tholstrup, Nanna Bisp Büchert, Marianne Engberg and Tove Kurtzweil. Tholstrup (b. 1929), trained in Chicago at the New Bauhaus and is the author of an extensive body of work including important documentation of the Syrian War. Bisp Büchert (b. 1937) is a self-taught photographer whose most powerful works ‘Family Photos With a Difference’ speaks to a tragic family history and the transience of life. Engberg (b. 1937) worked first as an advertising and studio photographer, and later as an art photographer. She began experimenting with pinhole photography in the 1960s and her work has been exhibited around the world and is held by major collections. The late Kurtzweil (b. 1938) was a bohemian, poet and philosopher who lived in Copenhagen where children, a darkroom, friends and the young boyfriend—who was both muse and assistant—filled up her life.

Nan Goldin:

All The Beauty And The Bloodshed is an emotional and interconnected story about internationally renowned and ground-breaking photographer Nan Goldin who turns the lens on her own life. Goldin’s photographic work documenting the fragile and nocturnal world of Boston’s drag queen scene is a fascinating subject but what elevates this documentary is her crusade against the Sackler family. The Sacklers were notorious art world philanthropists but also owned Purdue Pharma, the now-bankrupt company responsible for the manufacture of prescription painkiller OxyContin. Goldin, an OxyContin addiction survivor, stages powerful protests in a bid to hold them accountable for their role in an opioid epidemic that has claimed more than 500,000 lives since 2000 in the United States.

Robin Hood Gardens; a concrete eyesore or masterpiece of brutalist architecture? Designed by architects Alison and Peter Smithson, and built in 1972 in East London, the council housing estate often garnered divisive responses. Fifty years on, filmmakers Thomas Beyer and Adrian Dorschner explore the story and capture the now-demolished building in all its glory before the wrecking ball hits. They revisit the Robin Hood Gardens’ critics, champions and the inhabitants themselves to determine the true legacy of this concrete utopia that was honoured at the 2018 Venice Biennale.

Bawaʼs Garden is an experimental documentary about architecture that started with a garden. In search of Lunuganga, a landscape designed by renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, we journey with an unnamed protagonist (based on the director’s real-life exploration) as she travels across Bawa’s homeland. Peppered with charming local encounters, the search takes us to some of Bawa’s rarely documented buildings, many of them abandoned, pushing through lush green vegetation. Dreamlike narratives accompany interviews with Bawa’s friends and colleagues, revealing a philosophy which extends far beyond the craft of architecture.

Plan For Buenos Aires reconstructs Le Corbusier’s modernist proposal for Argentina’s capital city; and reveals the larger scope of political and cultural factors that would keep the famed Swiss-French architect’s design dreams on paper for more than 20 years. His 1929 visit to Buenos Aires, to give a series of lectures on modern architecture, was the catalyst of his vision; an urban plan to “restore health to the city... conquering the green of the Pampas that sleep under the cement”. Featuring original content and the knowledge of scholars, fellow architects and city planners, the film is a historically and aesthetically engaging retrospective documentary that is expertly directed to provide the viewer with a striking feeling of suspense.

Big Ears Listen With Feet takes us to Bangkok to explore the story of Boonserm Premthada, one of today’s most important Thai architects. Deaf from birth, Premthada tells the story of how his impairment led him to develop an alternative way of listening, using his whole body as a resonance chamber of sound vibrations. Inspired by elephants and their ability to perceive sound mostly through their feet, Premthada has developed an architecture of the senses where sound vibrations become the voice of space. Instead of focusing solely on Premthada’s buildings, acclaimed directors Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine unfold his legacy through a free wander, punctuated by encounters, events and places.

PRECEDED BY Aunties Tiles (7min).

Light Without Sun is an experimental documentary about Can Lis, a house designed by architect Jørn Utzon on the island of Mallorca, Spain. Considered to be one the most significant projects of the 20th century, the home is situated on a steep cliff facing the sea and consists of four separate buildings linked together by walls and courtyards optimising the use of light and view. Set over the period of one day, director Clara Kraft Isono uses a combination of interviews, narrative and choreography to push the usual exploration of architectural documentation.

Concrete Landscape presents a narrative view of the life of Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza, highlighting small strokes of remarkable moments that changed and influenced his work and daily life. The film explores his relationship with Brazil and the Iberê Camargo Institution, the only building that Siza designed in his birth country. Elaborating on the limits between architecture and nature, Concrete Landscape carries on to a tour of some of his finest works including Piscinas das Marés, the Architecture University of Porto and the Nadir Afonso Museum.

Richard Henriquez: Building Stories delves into the life and work of the remarkable and enigmatic narrative architect Richard Henriquez. Vladimir Kagan: A Life Of Design is a portrait of the late Vladimir Kagan—noted mid-century furniture designer, sculptor and writer—and documents his creative process.

PRECEDED BY the short, Gypsum Concrete (7 min).

Crooked Lines Of Beauty takes us on a journey with filmmaker Sven Blume as he retraces the steps of his late grandfather, architect Carl Nyrén. As a child, Blume found his grandfather’s role difficult to grasp but years later, he began to develop a curiosity about Nyrén’s legacy. He decides to visits many of his buildings, in the hope of learning something about the architect beyond what was captured on home video recordings. Deeply personal and touching, Crooked Lines Of Beauty is a poetic odyssey that reminds of us of the humanity required to realise architecture worth preserving.