RIO ↔ URBANIZED – Cities, Spaces, Matrices

 This film screening explores the complex, multi-layered processes that shape cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, New York, Mumbai, and Beijing.

The program begins with selected excerpts from RIO.
The main feature of the evening is URBANIZED.

 March 7, 20:00
 Art Foundation Anagi Cinema Hall. 12 Zurab Avalishvili St.
 Attendance is free

Following the screening, a discussion will be held with invited guests.

Working language of the discussion: Georgian
 To attend, please register at the link: https://forms.gle/e6YHpbniRwx2j44H8

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 RIO (2012)

Director: Sarah Morris
Excerpts: 8 + 11 minutes
Without dialogue

American artist Sarah Morris (b. 1967) investigates late-capitalist culture and its impact on architecture, urban planning, and social bureaucracy. Her eleventh film portrays the realities of one of the world’s most controversial cities, Rio de Janeiro.
In the film, the city is presented as a kind of matrix, where architecture, industry, history, and everyday life intersect, shaping Brazil’s cultural and social identity. RIO is part of a series of Morris’s works focused on cities, drawing inspiration from urban typologies, Brazilian modernist architecture, and Rio’s unique mountainous landscape.

 URBANIZED (2011)

Director: Gary Hustwit
Featuring: Alessandro Aravena, Oscar Niemeyer, Norman Foster, Jan Gehl, among others

USA | 85 minutes | Original version (English)

American director Gary Hustwit (b. 1965) examines cities, their planning, and new construction, as well as the motivations of local residents involved in these processes. This visually striking documentary presents even the most ordinary urban landscapes in an engaging, thought-provoking context. Architects, builders, politicians, and experts discuss current challenges and the solutions developed to address complex infrastructural issues.

The term “urbanized” defines the interconnected elements involved in shaping cities: government initiatives, public support, urban planning, architecture, and design. These elements sometimes work together harmoniously, sometimes in conflict, as reflected in the opinions of the experts featured in the film.

From Santiago to Phoenix, Brazil to Mumbai, and Beijing, Hustwit presents each city through a unique perspective. Despite their differences, all cities are understood within a shared urban context. At times, the film even goes beyond the theme, such as when it depicts opposition to the construction of a new, grand railway station in Stuttgart, Germany, led by the Green Party in 2010.

URBANIZED premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011 and has since been screened in over 100 cities across 20 countries.
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The authorial project by Irina Kurtishvili, Film and Architecture, will continue at the foundation’s space until March 12. The first cycle of the project features eight films.

 Full program: https://shorturl.at/bogk7

About the Curator

Irina Kurtishvili is a renowned artist, curator, and scenographer working between Germany and Georgia. Over the past two decades, she has initiated and authored numerous architectural, artistic, and cinematic projects in Tbilisi, Frankfurt, Berlin, Vienna, and Zurich.

More details:
www.irinakurtishvili.com
www.architectureambience.com