Architecture & Design Film Festival is Back (original) (raw)

Preview Tue Mar 06 2012

The Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) returns to Chicago this April for its third year and will be bringing with it an entirely new line up of 31 films from 13 countries. The festival is the largest in the nation that celebrates architecture and design. The five-day event, held at the Music Box Theatre, will comprise feature-length films, documentaries and shorts, as well as panel discussions with filmmakers, architects, designers and industry leaders.

This year's repertoire profiles the drama, glory and creative spirit behind world-renowned constructions and architects.

ADFF will begin the festival with the award-winning Unfinished Spaces, which chronicles the overdue revitalization of Cuba's National Art Schools project. Designed by three radical young artists commissioned by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in 1961, at the onset of the Revolution, the schools gained momentum quickly, but construction was abruptly halted in the wake of the political climate and the architects were deemed irrelevant. After 40 years, the schools are in use, but remain unfinished. Now, Castro invites the architects to return and fulfill their long forgotten dream.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend the U.S. premier of Mission Statements, which investigates how the Dutch employed prominent Dutch architects to create their embassies, thereby exporting their culture and values through construction.

In addition, the festival will feature several Chicago premiers including: ARCHITECT: A Chamber Opera in Six Scenes, inspired by the work of Louis I. Kahn (1902-1974); Mendelsohn's Incessant Visions, a cinematic meditation about the untold story of Erich Mendelsohn; 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.

A full list of films is available online.

Panel discussions will be hosted on April 13-15 and an evening of Pecha Kucha will be held on Friday, April 13. Both will be free of charge for festival attendees.

On top of it all, ADFF's official automotive sponsor, Audi, is inviting festival goers to sign up for half-hour architectural driving tours on April 14-15.

The films have been organized into 15 programs, each presenting 1-4 films of varying lengths, typically running a total of 90 minutes.

Tickets are sold by program and go on-sale Friday, March 9, 2012 at 10 a.m. Prices range: 11generaladmission,11 general admission, 11generaladmission,9.50 American Institute of Architects members, 8students,8 students, 8students,90 Bakers Dozen (13 tickets), $45 Fistfull (5 tickets).
Tickets are available for purchase online 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.