Moderation: Goggo Gensch
Guests: Stefan Behnisch, Architekt
"If buildings could talk, what would they tell us?"
The Berlin Philharmonic Concert Hall (Berlin, Germany)
"In Wim Wender's The Berlin Philharmonic, we experience the building through the eyes of quite a few of its visitors and employees, all of whom are deeply connected to it in their own way. We get to eavesdrop on orchestra rehearsals in the concert hall, where Scharoun radically reinvented the stage by daring to place it in the middle of the audience. The film allows us glimpses and insights into the inner workings of this legendary house. Debussy's Jeux provides the soundtrack for the Philharmonie's architecture, which remains groundbreaking to this day
The Russian National Library (St. Petersburg, Russia)
"In Michael Glawogger's The Russian National Library, the venerable library gets a chance to speak through excerpts from some of its greatest treasures. Beyond its walls, however, there pulsates a world that relies more and more on the virtual storage of data and information, and in which libraries and bookstores are slowly losing their importance. The film memorializes the ephemeral beauty of books and their shelters."
Halden Prison (Halden, Norway)
"Traditionally, prisons are designed as institutions of punishment – in them the limit of society's tolerance is expressed. But in The Halden Prison, Michael Madsen shows how this institution reverses this trend and imitates 'normal life'. His free-floating camera forms a counterpoint to the inmates' situation in prison – thus Madsen shows the thin dividing line between the humanistic concept of rehabilitation and the need within society for revenge and punishment."
The Salk Institute (La Jolla, USA)
"Robert Redford's The Salk Institute reveals Louis Kahn's extraordinary design as a modern masterpiece and a tribute to the right angle. The film is a reflection on the existential quality of a place. Can the soul of a building influence the people who work within it so as to help them accomplish extraordinary things? Accompanied by Moby's music, the film meditatively portrays a monumental location and two thinkers who were convinced that design can work in the service of humanistic ideals."
The Oslo Opera House (Oslo, Norway)
"Margareth Olin's The Oslo Opera House documents the countless people who cross the snow-white roof every day, as well as hundreds of the house's staff and performers who translate the life 'up there' onto the stage. Olin's film shows how much this building is a symbiosis of art and life."
The Centre Pompidou (Paris, France)
"Karim Ainouz's The Centre Pompidou presents a day in the life of this Parisian landmark: gliding through the futuristic glass escalator tubes, pausing to take in the dramatic views over Paris and highlights from the rich collections of modern art, as well as bringing us into its hidden rooms. The Centre Pompidou is like a giant magnet in the center of the city, and the film captures this magical pull the building has on both locals and visitors, on veterans and first-timers."
Further information about the film can be found at: http://kathedralenderkultur-derfilm.de/index.html
