Military Strongholds: Megastructures of Genius

Concrete Dreams

June 2020 •Portuguese

Murilo Peres and Pedro Barros get a once-in-a-lifetime pass to roll on the fabled curves of some undisputed masterpieces of modern architecture. Oscar Niemeyer remains one of the most important architects in modern history. The Brazilian visionary, who died in 2012 aged 104, elevated modern architecture beyond the realms of function and created buildings that are works of art and express the highest attributes of humanity. His work with reinforced concrete in particular created new architectural forms and possibilities, eschewing the tyranny of angles to create waves and swooping arches of such soaring beauty that they represent nothing less than physical poetry.

Cruel Architecture, a Tool of Gentrification

December 2021 •English

A short documentary shot in November 2021 in Berkeley. It reflects on the ethos of privatization in American culture and how public spaces are being built to exclude people through cruel architecture. The context used is the gentrification circle around the University of California Berkeley intended to build student housing. An eye-opening journey that explores structures and elements you would never have stopped at.

Breaking the Sound Barrier

November 2020 •English

On October 14, 1947, Captain Chuck Yeager accomplished what many thought was impossible: he broke the sound barrier and in doing so, changed aviation history forever. Behind this remarkable achievement was a dedicated team of rocket scientists and engineers, and one incredible plane, a Bell X-1 named "Glamorous Glennis." This is the story of the plane and the people who dared to travel faster than the speed of sound, pushing flight science forward and proving that no matter the barrier, humanity can find a way to break through.

Cinema's First Colors

October 2021 •French

Art and science have worked together to allow cinema to switch to color. Numerous processes have succeeded one another to try to solve this difficulty.

Hagia Sophia

January 2014 •French

Considered the finest example of Byzantine architecture in the world, Hagia Sophia was constructed on a scale unprecedented in human history. Built in the amazingly short time of five years, it bears witness to an amazing scientific knowledge and a rich cultural heritage from the past.

Magellan sur la route des épices

December 2021 •French

In 1519, Portuguese explorer Fernand de Magellan and his men embarked on an expedition that would forever change the way we see the world. Like Christopher Columbus before him, he set out in search of a western sea route to Asia's legendary Moluccan archipelago.

Nel silenzio del parco

September 2024 •Italian

La capitale gauloise disparue

December 2020 •French

Tak trochu poučnej barák

January 2022 •Czech

Colleagues, professional journalists and users comment on the masterpiece of the first lady of Czech architecture, Alena Šrámková... It is devoted to the building of the Faculty of Architecture of Czech Technical University, the work of the first lady of Czech architecture, Alena Šrámková, and from a distance brings users' perspective on how the building has succeeded over 10 years. Journalists who have been dedicated to architecture for many years, such as Karolína Vránková or Matěj Beránek, also collaborated on the film, and Bára Kopecká was in charge of the dramaturgical supervision.

Boulogne-Billancourt - Le temps des studios

December 2020 •French

Since 1922, Boulogne-Billancourt cinema studios have welcomed the greatest actors, directors and technicians of French cinema and have given birth to many masterpieces.

Le dernier guillotiné

February 2011 •French

Moka Malo, des corsaires à la conquête du café

October 2016 •French

Y in Vyborg

April 2006 •Finnish

In 1938 two young architects, Ragnar and Martta Ypyä, known as Y and Mirri, buy an 8mm camera. Together, they start filming the everyday life of Vyborg. But one year later, life in Vyborg changes irrevocably. The Soviet Union attacks Finland. The Winter War has destroyed the city. Mirri flees to the countryside; Y stays in Vyborg, helping to repair the bomb damage. But they carry on filming.

On a volé le Maréchal !

April 2012 •French

MSSM

October 2021 •Italian

Maurizio Sacripanti’s prefab school, designed in 1969 for the town of Molfetta, turns into a deafening film. An animated interpretation of a section of the building: holes, panels and layers of the project transform into a mechanical rhythm, but the sound of a bell alters the logic of the system.

The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of 'Twelve Monkeys'

November 1996 •English

A documentary following Terry Gilliam through the creation of "Twelve Monkeys."

Biggie & Tupac

January 2002 •English

In 1997, rap superstars Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls, The Notorious B.I.G.) were gunned down in separate incidents, the apparent victims of hip hop's infamous east-west rivalry. Nick Broomfield's film introduces Russell Poole, an ex-cop with damning evidence that suggests the LAPD deliberately fumbled the case to conceal connections between the police, LA gangs and Death Row Records, the label run by feared rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight.

Kobe Doin' Work

May 2009 •English

A documentary following Kobe Bryant during one day of the 2008 NBA playoffs.

Overcoming

June 2005 •English

A fascinating look behind the scenes at the 2004 Tour de France with a penetrating insight into the hermetically closed world of professional cycling, following the Danish Team CSC's experiences.

Land

August 2021 •German

Deconstructed rural pleasure: German documentary film about agriculture and its automation.