Radiant City

Places for the Soul

January 1990 •English

An intimate portrait of Christopher Alexander, a critic of modern architecture on a lifelong quest to build harmonious, livable places in today’s world. The film tells the story of two projects – a spectacular high school in Japan and an innovative homeless shelter in California. For Alexander, feelings come first, users are deeply engaged and process is paramount. We discover what happens when an architect’s unconventional method collides with standard practices in his profession.

Unarmed Verses

May 2017 •English

Toronto filmmaker Charles Officer profiles the young people of Villaways Park, a housing project on brink of historic change.

Banlie.ue

October 2023 •French

This is How the Obelisk Was Born

October 1936 •

The construction of the Obelisco in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Ma bande magnétique arrière

June 2009 •French

G – 21 Scenes from Gottsunda

March 2024 •Danish

Loran, a filmmaker from the notorious suburb Gottsunda, grapples with the desire to move away but is torn by loyalty to his childhood friends who lead a criminal life. "G" marks Loran's farewell to Gottsunda but completing the film in a changed community tests his sense of belonging and identity.

Dr Tscharniblues

June 1979 •German

Bern, 1979: a tower block called Tscharnergut. A group of friends get together to make a film about their experiences growing up in suburban Switzerland.

Eine vo dene

June 1980 •German

Bern, 1980: A caleidoscopic portrait of Swiss urban life in the early 1980s.

Smudge

January 2005 •English

This short documentary follows three Indigenous women as they practice ancestral forms of worship: drumming, singing, and using sweetgrass. These ancient spiritual traditions may at first seem at odds with urban life, but to Indigenous people in Canada who are used to praying in natural settings, the whole world is sacred space.

Tuning

September 2020 •Hebrew

At the heart of the Central Train Station in Tel Aviv stands a grand piano. It watches over the traffic moving to and from the docks, seemingly hearing and seeing everything from its own point of view. For some, the piano is a regular stop on their commute. Others, occasional travelers, encounter it in this unexpected space, inviting them, subject to their will. There, in the most bustling place is a piano that makes people take off their earphones and take part in something magical that requires no words. The piano is unplugged, the people unplug. How many of those who sit and play manage to transcend the external noise, reflecting in a different and challenging way the reality we live in, allowing us to look into ourselves?

Mr. Smith Goes to Tokyo

January 2009 •English

When Tomoko finds some messages for a 'Mr Smith' on a lost mobile phone, she finds herself on an 'Alice in Wonderland' journey through Tokyo's boulevards and back alleys. From the tyranny of symmetry in soaring office blocks - to buildings that look like space-ships, this creative documentary shows us the city's soul.

Tscharniblues II

January 2019 •German

Bern, 1979: a tower block called Tscharnergut. Together with a few friends (among them famous Swiss actor Stefan Kurt), director Aron Nick's father and uncle shoot the idealistic Super 8 film "Dr Tscharniblues" ("The Tscharni Blues") – a wild, unvarnished self-portrait of their generation. 40 years later, Nick gathers the friends at Tscharnergut and asks what has happened to them and their ideals in the meantime. What have the achieved? What have they lost? Past, present, and future clash and form a journey of personal disappointments, hopes, and a collective search for identity. In "Tscharniblues II," Aron Nick discovers a kind of friendship that can weather anything.

The Whole Gritty City

October 2013 •English

Young members of 3 New Orleans school marching bands grow up in America's most musical city, and one of its most dangerous. Their band directors get them ready to perform in the Mardi Gras parades, and teach them to succeed and to survive.

All the Way Home

January 1957 •English

A white family has just put their house on the market and are soon showing it to an interested black family. The neighbors begin to gossip and soon the white family becomes the target of harassment and threats by bigoted residents in the community, who do not want a black family in the neighborhood.

GONE

March 2022 •English

As development encroaches on a farming community, they struggle with the loss of their heritage and land.

The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream

January 2004 •English

Since World War II North Americans have invested much of their newfound wealth in suburbia. It has promised a sense of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility. As the population of suburban sprawl has exploded in the past 50 years Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream. But as we enter the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge...

Itiburtinoterzo

May 2009 •Italian

Documentary about the desolate lives of youngsters living in the Roman suburbs.

The Beginning of Life 2: Outside

November 2020 •Portuguese

Genuine connections between children and nature can revolutionize our future. But is this discovery still possible in the world's major urban centers? The new chapter of "The Beginning of Life" reveals the transformative power of this concept.

Rue de Blamage

April 2017 •German

The Baselstrasse is a street in Lucerne. People call it "Rue de Blamage" – it's a noisy street tucked into a narrow space between a hill and a train track. The people who live here don't usually mingle with the rich and famous, but even the roughest haunt can be a home to those who live and work there – and Baselstrasse's two kilometers of asphalt are no different.

Bedford-Stuyvesant Beautiful

Invalid date •English

Produced in 2004, Inspired by the book, Glory In A Snapshot A Photographic Look at Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bedford-Stuyvesant Beautiful is a video that gives you an insight into life in this historic community.