Film and architecture at the Mies van der Rohe Foundation

In principle, the function of architecture is to create shelter in the form of safe and comfortable spaces in which people can perform their tasks, whether private or public. But in creating boundaries, built spaces also delimit what lies outside – where a community ends and the wilderness that is on the other side. The building of these boundaries allow for the consolidation of the structures of a society and of power: that’s the common theme explored in the films to be screened in Pantalla Pavelló from 3 July at the Mies van der Rohe Foundation.

Pantalla Pavelló consists of the screening in July and September (3 and 31 July and 4 September) of three films that explore the management of spaces and the conflict between civilization and wilderness. That theme is particularly strong in the closing film in the cycle: High Rise, an adaptation by Ben Wheatley of the homonymous novel by J.G. Ballard depicting class struggle between the high and low level neighbours in a tower block. And it’s also an important focus of the other two films in the series: the Mexican production La Zona, which depicts a residential complex in which the residents protect themselves from the crime that comes from outside, and Beasts of the Southern Wilds, which explores life outside the boundaries of civilization through the eyes of a young girl.

Each screening also features an introduction by an expert in the field and a debate at the end. You’ll find additional information on the website of the Mies van der Rohe Foundation.