Modernism, Inc.: The Eliot Noyes Design Story

L'Orchidoclaste

The Oyler House: Richard Neutra's Desert Retreat

In 1959, a government employee named Richard Oyler, living in the tiny desert town of Lone Pine, California, asked world-famous modern architect Richard Neutra to design his modest family home. To Oyler's surprise, Neutra agreed. Thus began an unlikely friendship that led to the design and construction of an iconic mid-century modern masterpiece.

Objectified

A feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

Andrée Putman, A Juggernaut of Design

An icon of French taste, free and eccentric, Andrée Putman (1925–2013) imposed her unique style and shaped a generation of architects. With archival images and personal testimonials, this documentary is a beautiful tribute to one of the leading ladies of interior design.[arte.tv]

Wild Wild Space

Follow three rocket and satellite companies – Astra Space, Rocket Lab, and Planet Labs – and the quests of their idiosyncratic founders to conquer the burgeoning space industry.

Das Retirée or the last house of my father

If you were to design your dream house now that you're at the end of your life, what would it look like? This question from the filmmaker to her father, retired architect Karlhans Pfleiderer, is the starting point of Das Retirée or the last house of my father. Slowly but surely, the house takes form, first drawn on shifting layers of transparent paper, then glued into a scale model. Between the words and the gestures, the film of the daughter becomes the father’s last house, a space in which unspoken words, unfulfilled desires can appear, disclosing coping-mechanisms that have survived several generations.

Mid-Century Moderns: The Homes That Define Palm Springs

This documentary film goes beyond the walls and hedges of Mid-Century homes that were built in neighborhoods like Twin Palms, Vista Las Palmas and Racquet Club Estates. The film features interviews with noted architects James Harlan, author of The Alexanders. Watch as home owners in various Palm Springs neighborhoods speak directly to the pride that goes beyond home ownership as they tour us through their homes. They gladly accept that they are the stewards of these mid-Century monuments that they live with everyday.

Amancio Williams

A biography documentary of the Argentine modernist architect Amancio Williams.

My Architect: A Son's Journey

World-famous architect Louis Kahn (Exeter Library, Salk Institute, Bangladeshi Capitol Building) had two illegitimate children with two different women outside of his marriage. Son Nathaniel always hoped that someday his father would come and live with him and his mother, but Kahn never left his wife. Instead, Kahn was found dead in a men's room in Penn Station when Nathaniel was only 11.

Tokio - Die Stadtkultur von morgen

Tokyo, the largest city in the world, wants to create a new urban culture. It is returning to the urban traditions and building techniques of the small town. The aim is to create a new balance between megacity and small-scale garden city. Tokyo's architects are the driving force. They want to create a new urban culture with revolutionary ideas.

SCHROTT ODER CHANCE - Ein Bauwerk spaltet Potsdam

A Vision for the Valley: The Untold Story of the Meewasin Logo

After noticing the Meewasin logo throughout Saskatoon, filmmaker Devon Rumpel set out to answer that question. A Vision for the Valley explores the rare longevity of a modernist logo and the ideas that brought it to life. The film traces the origins of the Meewasin Valley Authority before turning its focus to Vic Sotropa, the logo’s designer, whose largely under-the-radar career has had an outsized impact in Saskatchewan. What begins as an inquiry into graphic design expands into a broader reflection on legacy, place, and the enduring power of human vision.

Aalto

Aalto is one of the greatest names in modern architecture and design, Aino and Alvar Aalto gave their signature to iconic Scandic design. The first cinematic portrait of their life love story is an enchanting journey of their creations and influence around the world.

Rams

For over fifty years, legendary designer Dieter Rams has left an indelible mark on the field of product design with his iconic work at Braun and Vitsoe, and his influence on Apple. So at 86 years old, why does he now regret being a designer? This is a design documentary, but it’s also a rumination on consumerism, materialism, and sustainability. Dieter's philosophy is about more than just design, it’s about a way to live.

Czechoslovak Architecture 58–89

Vladimir 518, uncompromising rapper, artist, stage designer and activist, is a rare phenomenon, who not only writes books, but publishes them as well. Today also a respected authority primarily on pre-1989 architecture, he has written not only a major publication on the subject, but also the story for two audiovisual works treating the same theme, which were shot by Jan Zajíček, renowned director of music videos. In addition to the recent TV series we have the eagerly anticipated feature-length film which, through its fascinating and impressive exploration of Czech and Slovak architecture of the latter half of the 20th century, offers exclusive insight into extraordinary buildings and unique individuals living below the Tatra Mountains. Karel Och (kviff.com)

Frank Lloyd Wright: Phoenix From the Ashes

A portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), a genius of modern architecture, whose life passed between glory, scandal and tragedy.

Julius Shulman: Desert Modern

Julius Shulman: Desert Modern focuses on Shulman's remarkable 70-year documentation of the renowned Mid-Century Modern architecture of the Palm Springs area/ Shulman, at the age of 97, describes with humor and insight his artistic intentions and the back-story to some of his most legendary photographs. He is joined by noted architectural historian Alan Hess and Michael Stern, co-authors of the book, "Julius Shulman: Palm Springs". Stern is also curator of the "Julius Shulman: Palm Springs" exhibition which originated at the Palm Springs Art Museum in February 2008. The flm showcases Shulman's inspired photography of the architecture of Richard Neutra, Albert Frey, John Lautner, E. Stewart Williams, Palmer and Krisel and William Cody, among others. E. Stewart Williams' Frank Sinatra House is featured, as well as Richard Neutra's Kaufmann House, one of the most famous homes in America, largely due to Shulman's iconic 1947 photograph.

When We Live Alone

What are the consequences for the city now that more and more people are choosing to live alone? How should we plan our cities and what is the importance of public meeting places? More than Houses: a depressing or liberating vision?

Gaudí, le génie visionnaire de Barcelone

In Barcelona, the Casa Batlló alone sums up the genius of Antoni Gaudí. During the exhibition devoted to it by the Musée d'Orsay, we take a guided tour of this eccentric, colorful residence, completed in 1906.