ADFF / ADFF:Chicago / Short Films
Chicago Short Films
11 short films will be showing continuously in the Chicago Gallery throughout the festival, no ticket needed.
Anthropocene Mountain
3:00 mins | US | 2021
Anthropocene Mountain is a yearlong photographic and video meditation on the search for coexistence with Mother Earth. Critical action is necessary to address environmental change. Building on this understanding, Anthropocene Mountain explores the interdependence of cities, people, cultures, and wilderness.
Beloit College Powerhouse
3:50 mins | US | 2021
In their film Beloit College Powerhouse, Spirit of Space highlights a Studio Gang project by the same name. With light, life, and color, Jeanne Gang transformed a former coal-burning power plant into a student union centered on recreation and wellness. This resurrection reminds viewers of the bright future ahead.
Ex of In House
6:30 mins | US | 2019
Spirit of Space takes us on an odyssey through the mind of architect Steven Holl, who based his Ex of In House design on an eloquent poem that posits the house as a monument gesturing towards the heavens. The viewer experiences Holl’s vision through opposing concepts– in and out, building and nature, form and concept.
For Everyone a Garden
6:00 mins | Italy, Canada | 2023
Acclaimed architect, urban planner, and theorist Moshe Safdie achieved worldwide recognition when his very first building, Habitat 67, proved to be eminently viable. The pioneering housing project was designed around Safdie’s guiding metaphor—“For everyone a garden”—which espouses his belief that green space, natural light, and fresh air are human rights.
Fossey Opening Video: Building a Permanent Home
5:45 mins | Rwanda | 2022
Located at the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, adjacent to the Volcanoes National Park, serves as the new home for Dian Fossey's Karisoke Research Center. It functions as a pivotal hub for scientific research and discovery in Rwanda.
IN HARMONY
5:30 mins | Germany | 2023
IN HARMONY is a cinematic documentary that features the visionary architect Stephan Maria Lang along with local craftsmen. Working with nature rather than against it, the protagonists create charismatic homes and a unique atmosphere.
Missing Footsteps
9:58 mins | Portugal | 2023
Portuguese Cobblestone is one of the biggest symbols of Portugal culture: is an icon of engineering, pride and a stone in the shoe of urban mobility.
NIX
9:12 mins | Canada | 2023
An ethereal experience of light and weather unfolds within a temporary snow structure built on the frozen Nestaweya River Trail in Winnipeg Manitoba. Invited by 2023 Warming Huts: An Arts + Architecture Competition on Ice, artist Wanda Koop, designer Thom Fougere, and snow experts build a contemporary snow fort that functions as land art.
Rock’n’House
14:21 mins | US | 2020
Some might have found themselves between a rock and a hard place after finding a prehistoric glacial erratic in the middle of their land, but for architect Christian Wassmann, it was just what he was looking for. The boulder became the central feature of Wassmann’s design, an example of how humans and nature can coexist.
The Making of Mahalia Jackson Court
9:48 mins | US | 2023
Architects, artists, craftspeople, and community stakeholders work together to rapidly transform a vacant lot on the south side of Chicago into a community gathering space.
Trusses
8:45 mins | Belgium | 2022
Trusses is above all a parti pris. It doesn’t tell the story of the construction of the Amal Amjahid building located on the edge of the canal in Molenbeek, designed by Bogdan & Van Broek. Instead, it tells the story of one of the building’s four trusses, the metal structures that support the building.