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Architecture

Set across cityscapes and in apartment buildings, hotels, and museums, this collection of films explores the ways that people define — and are defined by — the changing spaces around them.


In-Person
A woman emraces a girl, kissing the side of her head, and holds a small black dog in her other arm.
ArchitectureSnapshots

Bad Living Mal Viver

João Canijo  |   Portugal, France
Portuguese  
Architecture, Drama, Family Affairs, Women Centered

The first in a pair of intricately interconnected films, five women struggle to keep their decaying family hotel afloat.

In-Person
A woman stares out a dirty window, the paint on the exterior is old and cracked.
ArchitectureInternational CompetitionWomen in Cinema

Black Box

Aslı Özge  |   Germany, Belgium
Andi, Arabic, English, French, German, Russian, Turkish  
Architecture, Drama, Social Commentary, Thriller

A Berlin apartment building is placed under lockdown, igniting social, cultural, and familial tensions in this intoxicating potboiler.

In-Person
Two men speak to each other. Framed behind them is a large mirrored structure, reflecting trees and buildings.
ArchitectureDocumentaryWomen in Cinema

Depot – Reflecting Boijmans

Sonia Herman Dolz  |   Netherlands
Dutch, English, German  
Architecture, Art, Documentary

This playful documentary chronicles the construction of the Depot, a shimmering open-concept space in Rotterdam that reimagines the possibilities for art storage and exhibition.

In-Person
A dark haired woman leans over the shoulder of another woman, her shoulder strap sliding down, as they look out a window.
ArchitectureSnapshots

Living Bad Viver Mal

João Canijo  |   Portugal, France
Portuguese  
Architecture, Drama, Family Affairs, Women Centered

The events of companion film Bad Living are seen through the eyes of the hotel’s guests, who are juggling problems of their own.

In-Person
In the center of a brick city street gathers a group of people in strange vintage costumes.
ArchitectureDocumentaryDocumentary Competition

Pictures of Ghosts Retratos fantasmas

Kleber Mendonça Filho  |   Brazil
Portuguese  
Architecture, Art, Documentary, Social Commentary

From acclaimed Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho comes an incisive and whimsical essay film about movies, memory, and the places of one’s past.

In-Person
Streaming
ArchitectureShorts Program

Shorts 8: Architecture – Versions of Home

Various  |   France, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Ukraine, United States
French, Mandarin, Russian, Ukrainian  
Animation, Architecture, Comedy, Documentary

In celebration of this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial, this program tracks how we establish strong connections to a place, and the complications of staying in it.