The spaces, the cities and the architecture are revisited in this edition of the festival with the works of Jem Cohen, Heinz Emigholz and the team effort of Ana Resende, Miguel C. Tavares, Rui Manuel Vieira and Tiago Costa.
World Without No End (No Reported Incidents) explores the region of Southern-on-Sea, a small city near the Thames river. Interviews, proto-punk music and Jem Cohen’s unique vision take us on a stroll through the scenery and the faces of the region. On May 5th, at Cinema São Jorge. Then there is Jem Cohen’s Counting, a documentary filmed in Russia, Turkey and the USA, resembling a diary and a political essay. Fifteen chapters about contemporaneity, from the amateur theatre of the streets in Moscow to the cibervigilance of the NSA, on May 7th at Cinema São Jorge. And, finally, Jem Cohen’s Chain, a feature film which reflects on the social and economical differences in the world. On one side Tamiko, a Japonese entrepreneur, on the other Amanda, a young misfit, on a stroll through the malls, amusement parks and convention centers. Filmed in seven different countries and eleven American states, the film is an allegory to the power of consumerism. On May 8th, at Cinema São Jorge.
2+2=22 [The Alphabet] is the first part of the Streetscapes series, in which Heinz Emigholz joins three of his interests: architecture, music and a visit to his own diary. On May 4th at Culturgest. The second part of the Streetscapes, Bickels [Socialism] visits 22 buildings in Israel which were drawn by architect Samuel Bickels, many of them abandoned or reconverted. A look at the rise and fall of the urban utopias, on May 8th at Culturgest. With Streetscapes [Dialogues], we get a reflection on the the blank page and artistic crisis, one of the most important films in order to understand the German director. On May 14th, at Culturgest. The last part of the Streetscapes is a three part work about architecture, which shows us three buildings of the 1930s by Julio Vilamijó that inspired the work of Eladio Diest. In Dieste [Urugay], Emigholz’ camera is enchanted by the organic lines of Dieste’s work. On May 14th, at Cinema São Jorge.
We now close with the Portuguese contribution to this list. The Construction of Villa Além is a film directed by eight hands: four directors (Ana Resende, Miguel C. Tavares, Rui Manuel Vieira e Tiago Costa), three of them architects, all of them interested in the relations between cinema and architecture. Thus, they film the construction of a house in Alentejo, from the empty field to the inhabited building. Culturgest, May 6th.