The Film and Architecture Studio has proved itself in the past years as one of the most acclaimed courses on film and architecture in the world. It offers a comprehensive way to use cinematic language as a way to explore the relationship between film, cities and architecture. It is a hands-on studio that focuses on learning and understanding the narrative of filmmaking as a research tool to better understand our urban surroundings. Participants in this course are introduced to the essential elements of filmmaking and learn how to relate these to architecture and the city. The focus of the studio is not so much on the technical aspects of filmmaking and postproduction, but rather on film as a tool to structure your thoughts and to turn your findings into a gripping narrative.
Course structure
The Film and Architecture Studio is spread over a period of a month, allowing participants to conduct research in their immediate surroundings. While two sessions are organized physically in Rotterdam, we always offer the possibility to attend online for those who cannot make it. Through weekly meetings between 5 September and 6 October 2022, we will exchange ideas and discuss your progress with both the tutors involved as well as other participants in the course.
We will start the first session at the Independent School for the City with a general introduction to the course and a public lecture on Film and Architecture by tutor, curator, and film maker Jord den Hollander. During the weeks that follow, we’ll gather online to discuss our progress, followed by a conversation about the various approaches and ways to move forward. These meetings are combined with two presentations and conversations with a director of photography (DOP) and a filmmaker. We will eventually get together in Rotterdam again for the festive screening of the short movies in a real cinema room, and to attend the opening of the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam in October.
Tutors
This year, we’re welcoming cinematographer Thomas Kist and filmmaker Hans Christian Post as tutors:
Thomas Kist has worked as Director of Photography with directors like Theo van Gogh, Steve Buscemi and Stanley Tucci, and has been involved in numerous documentaries on architecture and the city. His work has been presented on festivals and television worldwide.
Hans Christian Post is a writer and filmmaker. Having a PhD in Modern Culture from the university of Copenhagen, his main field of research is cultural and urban memory with Dresden and Berlin as primary cases, he has written extensively on the intertwining of city planning, building preservation, memory, and history politics. Since 2014, he has worked as film maker and producer. In 2020 he completed Where to with history?, which premiered at AFFR. The world premiere of his latest film, about the downside of seemingly successful European cities in a neoliberal landscape, will be the opening of AFFR 2022 on 5 October.
Schedule Film & Architecture Studio
Monday 5 September 2022 (online & offline session)
Evening at the Independent School for the City in Rotterdam
– online attendance possible
19:00 – 19:15 Welcome and introduction by Mike Emmerik
19:15 – 20:30 Public Lecture on Film & Architecture by Jord den Hollander
20:30 – 21:00 Break
21:00 – 21:30 Briefing on assignment + conversation by Jord den Hollander
Thursday 08 September 2022 (online session)
19:00 – 21:00 Pitch of first ideas
Monday 12 September 2022 (online session)
19:00 – 21:00 Presentation and conversation with Hans Christian Post
Thursday 15 September 2022 (online session)
19:00 – 21:00 Presentation of first results & feedback
Monday 19 September 2022 (online session)
19:00 – 21:00 Presentation and conversation with Thomas Kist
Thursday 22 September 2022 (online session)
19:00 – 21:00 Presentation of progress & feedback
Thursday 29 September 2022 (online session)
19:00 – 21:00 Q&A with Jord den Hollander, input on specific questions
Wednesday 5 October 2022 (offline session)
20:00 – 23:00 Opening Night AFFR 2022 at Theater Zuidplein Rotterdam
Thursday 6 October 2022 (online & offline session)
16:00 – 18:00 Presentation of films in cinema room 4 LantarenVenster Rotterdam (incl. livestream)
AFFR and Independent School for the City
The Film & Architecture Studio is organized by the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (www.affr.nl) and the Independent School for the City (www.schoolforthecity.nl). The studio is open to students and professionals in the fields of architecture, sociology, design, cinematography, and other urban studies. Although it might be useful, the film and architecture studio does not require any advanced knowledge in filmmaking or special equipment like cameras or editing tools. All recording tools are welcome, but a smartphone and laptop work as bare essentials.
The fourteenth Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam is centred around the theme “Freeze Frame” and takes place from 05-09 October 2022. More info: www.affr.nl.
Image: Sander van Wettum