Film Festival At Building Museum Highlights Architecture, Design

WASHINGTON, DC — While many people will be visiting the District this weekend to check out the cherry blossoms along the tidal basin, another celebration of beauty will be taking place across town at the National Building Museum.

The museum is partnering with the Architecture & Design Film Festival: DC to present 12 short films from around the world, examining the works of indigenous architects. The festival, which runs from Thursday through Saturday, will also highlight the contributions of Frank Lloyd Wright and Marcel Breuer, as well other architects that have left their marks on the world.

An Opening Night Celebration will kick off the festival from 6-9 p.m., on Thursday in the museum’s Great Hall. The event will include a screening of the film “Mau” and an in-person Q&A with Bruce Mau, the namesake of the documentary. There will also be an open bar with a signature cocktail and hors d’oevres will be served.

Tickets for the opening night ceremony are $40 for museum members, $25 for students and $50 for non-members. Advance registration is available online.

Ticket information and details about the following 12 films in the festival can be found on the ADFF:DC website.

• “Another Kind of Knowledge – Portrait of Dorte Mandrup” (2021 / 78 min / Denmark) Directors: Marc-Christoph Wagner and Simon Weyhe
• “Architect of Brutal Poetry” (2021 / 70 min / Slovakia) Director: Ladislav Kabos
• “Battleship Berlin” (2021 / 40 min / Germany) Director: Nathan Eddy
• ‘Beyond Zero” (2021 / 81 min / USA) Director: Nathan Havey
• “Breuer’s Bohemia” (2021 / 73 min / USA) Director: James Crump
• “From Earth to Sky” (2021 / 72 min / Canada) Director: Ron Chapman
• “High Maintenance – The Life and Work of Dani Karavan‘
  (2020 / 66 min / Israel) Director: Barak Heymann
• “Holy Frit” (2020 / 119 min / USA) Director: Justin Monroe
• “Inside Prora” (2019 / 100 min / Germany) Director: Nico Weber
• “Light Snatcher” (2021 / 29 min / Finland) Director: Charlotte Airas
• “Mau” (2021 / 76 min / Austria) Directors: Jono & Benji Bergmann
• “Mud Frontier: Architecture at the Borderlands” (2021 / 63 min / USA) Director: Chris J. Gauthier
• “Unity Temple: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Modern Masterpiece“
  2020 / 55 min / USA Director: Lauren Levine
• “What Does It Take to Make A Building?”
  2021 / 27 min / United Kingdom Director: Jim Stephenson

The National Building Museum is located at 401 F St., Northwest, in Washington, D.C. This weekend’s festival will be the first in-person event of the festival’s 2021-2022 season.