Den architektury 2021 - Film and Architecture

From September 30 to October 4, the Film and Architecture festival will take place for the tenth time in thirteen Czech and Slovak cities. The jubilee edition, subtitled "Connection," will highlight the important role of architecture in connecting people, places, and cultures and present a selection of the most interesting films from international production, focusing on quality architecture or architectural approaches to social issues.

"The selection of films is, as every year, the most current that has been created abroad and in our country over the past year. These are exceptional films that will be screened mostly for the first time and often for the last time due to their specialization," says program curator Karolína Vacková.

Audiences across the country will be able to choose from nearly two dozen films from the USA, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.

"On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jan Kotěra, the founder of modern Czech architecture, a special series of short films about Kotěra's buildings will be created specifically for the festivals of Day of Architecture and Film and Architecture, produced by several Czech filmmakers," adds Vacková.

The festival will kick off on Thursday, September 30, at the Světozor cinema in Prague with the unconventional film Spaceship Earth, which describes the futuristic story of a simulation of life in a space colony. Highlighted festival films include an artistic journey into the sacred work of renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta titled Mario Botta: The Space Beyond, Body-buildings, a visually captivating connection of dance, architecture, and film in unique architectural locations in Portugal, and Inside Prora, which delves into the troubled history of the world's longest building, originally constructed as a summer resort for the Third Reich, later transformed into NDR barracks and, after years of degradation and designation as a cultural heritage site, is being converted into luxury hotels and vacation apartments on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

The Film and Architecture festival and the Day of Architecture are organized by the association Kruh, which has been promoting architecture for twenty-one years. The aim is to present quality and contemporary architecture to the public, encourage meaningful discussion, and facilitate dialogues between authors and residents of cities and municipalities.

"For over twenty years, we have been trying to convey architecture through various formats in cooperation with the Kruh association. One of the most tried and tested formats is architecture in film. Since the first year of the Film and Architecture festival in 2002, we have been bringing the most interesting premiere films from international production and showcasing mostly contemporary quality architecture through film, as well as urban and landscape issues," explains Marcela Steinbachová, director of the Film and Architecture festival and the Day of Architecture.

The Film and Architecture festival runs parallel to the Day of Architecture. From Friday, October 1, to Thursday, October 7, participants can look forward to a rich and free-access program with several hundred events across the republic and Slovakia, excursions to both well-known and unknown architecture, whether on foot, by bike, train, or boat, always with expert commentary.

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