Join us for a series of FREE documentaries on modernist architecture and design. The inaugural series will present six unique critically acclaimed films from around the world and a presentation that highlight a wide range of design-oriented topics from architecture and interior design to graphics and product design. Presented in collaboration with London Public Library.

Screenings will be on Wednesday evenings at 7pm in Stevenson & Hunt Room B at the Central Branch of the London Public Library. Free parking w validation. Bus, bicycle & pedestrian accessible.

REGULAR OR SUPER: VIEWS ON MIES VAN DER ROHE
Directors, Patrick Demers & Joseph Hillel
Award for best Canadian work, 22nd International Festival of Film on Art, 2004
2004 | Canada | 57 min
Wednesday, September 12  7pm
In 1967, at the end of a spectacular international career spanning more than six decades, architect Mies van der Rohe designed a simple gas station near Montreal. The story of that gas station serves as the point of departure for Regular or Super, which examines Mies' entire body of work (more than 70 buildings) and the spare style that came to reflect his motto that less is more.
http://www.acf-film.com/en/fiche.php?film=30879

EAMES: THE ARCHITECT AND THE PAINTER
Producers, Jason Cohn & Bill Jersey
Narrator, James Franco
2011 | USA | 84 min
Wednesday, September 19  7pm
The husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames are widely regarded as Americas most important designers. Perhaps best remembered for their mid-century furniture, the Eames Office also created an astounding variety of other products. But their personal lives and influence on significant transformations in American life has been less widely understood. As American society began shifting towards an economy based on ideas and communications, the Eames Office was always a step ahead.
http://firstrunfeatures.com/eames/

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE HISTORY OF VISIONARY ARCHITECTURE
Director, Jesper Wachtmeister
2007 | Sweden | 52 min
Wednesday, October 3  7pm
Great Expectations introduces us to the most significant architectural movements and personalities of the 20th century, including, among many others, Le Corbusier's functionalist cities, Oscar Niemeyer's sleek urban designs for Brasilia, Buckminster Fuller's lightweight geodesic domes, and Moshe Safdie's Habitat '67 prefab apartments.
http://www.icarusfilms.com/new2007/gre.html

KOCHUU: JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE / INFLUENCE & ORIGIN

Director, Jesper Wachtmeister
Architects Prize, 2004 International Film Festival of Docs on Architecture
2003 | Sweden | 53 min
(Swedish, Japanese & Finnish with English subtitles)
Wednesday, October 10  7pm

A visually stunning film about modern Japanese architecture, its roots in the Japanese tradition, and its impact on the Nordic building tradition. The film shows remarkable views of Japanese architecture, as well as examples of the cross-fertilization evidenced in buildings throughout Scandinavia, and shows how 'invisible' Japanese traditions are evident even in modern, high-tech buildings.
http://www.icarusfilms.com/new2006/koch.html

EL CERRITO

Director, Juan Andrés Bello and Producer Constanza Burucúa
National Prize for Documentary Cinema (DOCUMENTA 2007) in the categories of Best Script and Best Opera Prima, Caracas, Venezuela
2006 | Venezuela | 60 min
(Spanish with English subtitles)
Wednesday, October 17  7pm

Throughout the 1950s, Caracas, Venezuela became a city where the dreams of modern architecture seemed possible. Armando Planchart, a prosperous businessman, and his wife Anala, contact renowned Italian architect and designer Gio Ponti to build a new house for them. He initially rejects the job, but after a trip to Venezuela, forms a deep and lasting bond with the Plancharts and the country itself. Quinta El Cerrito would become his masterpiece.
Director Juan Bello and Producer Constanza Burucúa will introduce the film and answer questions from the audience afterwards.
http://www.produccionestriana.com/elcerrito-ingles.htm

CLEAN LINES, OPEN SPACES: A VIEW OF MID-CENTURY MODERN ARCHITECTURE
Producer, Mark Wilcken
Canadian Premiere
2011 | USA | 56 min
Wednesday, October 24  7pm

A new documentary from PBS looks at regional examples of mid-century modern architecture in the American Southern Midwest, from the University of Arkansas' Fine Arts Center designed by Arkansas native and internationally known architect Edward Durell Stone to the Tower Building in Little Rock, the Fulbright Library in Fayetteville that reflects the aesthetics of famous Chicago architect Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe, and the abandoned Hotel Mountainaire, perfectly defining art moderne.
http://www.aetn.org/midcenturymodern

PARADISE PALMS
Ralph Lembcke, Modernism Magazine contributor and mid-century modern enthusiast
Wednesday, November 14  7pm

In a city with a reputation for imploding its landmarks, the celebrated Las Vegas neighbourhood known as Paradise Palms  designed largely by architects Dan Palmer and William Krisel  has not only survived, but is enjoying a renaissance thanks to dedicated owners and mid-century modern aficionados. Discover the glamour of Paradise Palms whose famous residents have included Johnny Carson, Dean Martin, and Debbie Reynolds.

FB Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/219504874844295/
Library Catalogue Record: http://encore.londonpubliclibrary.ca/iii/encore/record/C__Rg1003548?lang=eng