Recensie

Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam

The Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (AFR) takes place from Thursday 1 to Wednesday 7 November this year. Featuring classic films, documentaries, installations, lectures and presentations at four Rotterdam venues – Cinerama, Lantaren/Venster, NAi and Berlage Institute – the programme will show that film and architecture have more in common than ever before.

Once again, this year's Architecture Film Festival offers a public programme of classic films under the theme 'film and architecture', including Wings of Desire (W. Wenders), Alphaville (J.L. Godard) with DJ Scanner (UK), The Conversation (F.F. Coppola) and Rear Window (A. Hitchcock). Unique viewing will be a restored version of Metropolis (F. Lang), its very first showing in the Netherlands. To emphasise this special 'Rotterdam 2001' edition of AFR, the programme also highlights the city of Rotterdam. Under the heading 'The City as Workshop', Joop de Jong has compiled a programme of dance films by the likes of René Hazekamp and Marijke Jongbloed.

Many of today's architects find inspiration in science fiction films. So plenty of reason for the programme to look at the relationship between science fiction and contemporary (interior) architecture. Films like Forbidden Planet (F.W. Wilcox) and the original version of Electronic Labyrinth: THX-1138-4EB (G. Lucas) will supported by a lecture from programmer Lara Schrijver. Also included are documentaries on Dutch architecture, including the première of the new documentary JK John Körmeling by Jeroen Visser. An important section comprises a selection of the most recent national and international film and video productions. The NAi will also be the venue for a continuous film programme about Rotterdam city. The Berlage Institute is participating in AFR this year for the first time by hosting a series of lectures and presentations examining the relationship between film and architecture. Guest speakers include Anthony Vidler (US), Patrick Keiller (UK) and Gilles Rollerstone (UK). Also in the Berlage Institute is 'Shopping Malls', with work by Jannes Linders, Judith Barry, Harum Farocki and Jan Kempenaers, and a CD-Rom presentation about Tokyo by Raoul Bunschoten.