17th edition. 7 cities. Hundreds of films. Instead of May - September. This year's Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival offers a cinematic feast served in a traditional way - in theaters and in a modern way - online. The first, stationary part of the festival took place at the beginning of September, in the second - remote - we can participate until October 4.
This year's edition is accompanied by the slogan "from tenderness to the world", and in the wide range of film proposals we will also find productions related to architecture, the city and the challenges of today's world.
change, change, change
We observe the changes on London's Hoxton Street with director Zed Nelson in the film "1 Gentrification Street." Situated practically in the center of the British capital - Hoxton Street and its surroundings are becoming a place that is increasingly being overrun by the monster of gentrification. We observe the process of changes taking place, the meeting of worlds and people. In the "old" world there is the local community, elderly people who were born here, entrepreneurs and owners of eating establishments who know their customers by name and even treat each other like family. In this new world, skyscrapers are sprouting up that the neighborhood's current residents can't afford to live in, but which make a very strong visual mark on the neighborhood's landscape.
In a world that is disappearing, you can eat a traditional English pie at the F. Cooke, where the recipes and production process hasn't changed in decades because, according to the owners, that's what their customers expect. In the new reality, hipsters drink coffee in a newly opened coffee shop and attend art gallery openings. The process we see on the screen is not just places disappearing from the map, replaced by new buildings and fresh paint. It is, above all, the interpersonal ties that are being broken. Like a lens, we also see other problems piling up: increasing social stratification, growing financial divisions and mutual misunderstanding, resentment against immigrants and support for Brexit. The film shows that the symbolic street is not only an urban space, but also economics, politics and the economy. It's also a cry for help, because although Hoxton Street residents are aware of the changes taking place, there is a lack of help and support. The image is extremely timely, as it also relates to the gentrification processes that are taking place in the Polish landscape. And finally, if the process happens, it will be a huge loss, because the street here is clearly a community-building factor, and its rhythm is extremely lively.
women top
The memory and knowledge of women's achievements in the world of architecture and urban planning is reminded by the film "Dreamers of Cities" (directed by Joseph Hillel). Today already aged professionals talk about their activities, life and work, in which many of them still actively fulfill themselves. Blanche Lemco van Ginkel designed the rooftop of the Marseilles Unit, diverse in functions. Phyllis Lambert was involved in Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building project. Cornelia Hahn Oberlander designed landscaping on rooftops and between buildings before it became popular. Denise Scott Brown was exceptionally active in the field of architecture and urbanism, but because of her gender, not quite recognized by the industry. Particularly in 1991, when her husband and business partner Robert Venturi was receiving the Pritzker Prize for their work together. Denise Scott Brow also recalls that despite being a partner in a design studio and one of the architects, she was asked to remove herself from photography. These are the shadows of being a woman in the architecture industry.
However, the film is mainly about the brights and stories of female designers. About their active involvement, for example, to save urban neighborhoods. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was fashionable to build highways. There were plans to demolish entire neighborhoods in cities in Canada and the United States. In Montreal, Phyllis Lambert was active, in Philadelphia, on South Street - Denise Scott Brown. Thanks to their commitment and cooperation with residents and organizations - important and city-forming spaces were saved. Although the life paths of these four designers were quite different, they have one thing in common - curiosity about the world, human beings and the desire to make the place we live in better - not at all because of the promise of fame - but passion and love for the profession.
The unobvious creator of Bauhaus
The film "The New Bauhaus" (directed by Alysa Nahmias) recalls the figure of László Moholy-Nagy. Artist, painter, photographer, teacher, school founder. A Renaissance man whose life and paths became intertwined with the turbulent events of the early 20th century. As the founder of Chicago's "New Bauhaus" school, he focused on awakening human and sensory sensibilities, breaking patterns and experimentation. After all, "abstract art is created not because it is pretty, but to change the world."
climate for change
The films "Planet 2.0." (directed by Matt Wolf) or "City of Smog" (directed by Meng Han) are just some of the proposals related to the environment. In "City of Smog," policymakers in China's Langfang - Beijing's neighbor - struggle to improve air quality. It is apparent that this is not only an environmental issue, but also a political one, and jobs depend on getting better air results. And at the same time, it's essential to support residents and small businesses to start using greener solutions.
In contrast, the film "Planet 2.0." is about collective, hippie action. Created in the 1990s, Biosphere 2 recreates Earth's environment on a microscale to test the possibility of survival before colonizing other planets. The climate for change is also sought by the titular "Analog Visionary" (directed by Jens Meurer). Full of enthusiasm and commitment, he not only restores the luster of objects whose splendor has passed, but also creates an incredible network of human connections and takes unusual actions such as.... buying a bankrupt Polaroid factory.
