Robin Hood Gardens is a story of complexity and contradiction in modern architecture. Built by British architects Alison & Peter Smithson, the controversial East-London council estate was not only unloved by its first residents in 1972 but also garnered divisive responses from internationally-renowned critics. Decades later, the brutalist building was demolished to pave the way for site redevelopment yet simultaneously exhibited at the Venice Biennale. In light of the estate’s 50th anniversary, the documentary offers surprising insights from residents and critics and presents a second look at the construction of the ostracized project.

Globally renowned for its simplicity, functionality, and longevity, Danish design rose to popularity during the so-called ‘Golden Age’ of Danish Design in the 1940s and 1950s. Grethe Meyer – The Queen of Danish Design narrates the story of Grethe Meyer – one of the few pioneering women who, despite the enormous consequences, created classic designs such as the Royal Copenhagen Blue Edge set. Combining humanist thinking with an almost scientific methodology, Meyer analyzed her way into all her designs – working, reworking, and testing – in a man’s world.

Finnish artist Maija Isola was one of the first designers of Marimekko – the Finnish design brand known for its vibrant and original prints and colors worldwide. Having designed over 500 prints during her 38-year tenure at the company, Maija not only revolutionized Finnish homes in the 1950s and 60s with her fabric designs but also extended the brand’s reach overseas to cities like New York and Tokyo. The film traces the footsteps of Maija, an avid traveler who has lived in various cities and countries throughout her life. Presented through archive material, new fictive footage, animations, and film clips, the film explores the artist’s life, sources of inspiration, legacy, and the secret behind the success of her nature-inspired fabrics.

The city of Athens is so much more than the classical architecture that adorns it since there is a vibrant energy, buzz, and density that fills its streets and neighborhoods. Builders, Housewives and the Construction of Modern Athens unveils a new perspective of the city, examining the most distinctive Athenian building type – the polykatoikía – and the city’s reconstruction by the anonymous lay builders and their housewives, who were the most unlikely “co-authors.” The documentary takes a deep dive into the lives of the provincials who came to Athens after the Civil War and shed light on how they developed their craft and communicated with the educated architects. Based on the book with the same title by Ioanna Theocharopoulou, the film proposes a fascinating account of the provincials’ role and encounter with the “project of modernity.”