Regular or Super – Views on Mies van der Rohe

After the Seagram Building in New York, the Toronto-Dominion Centre in Toronto, the New National Gallery in Berlin and the Lake Shore Drive Apartment Bldgs in Chicago, the fabled architect Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) designed a gas station near Montreal in 1968. This simple and utilitarian building reflects the divergent views held by experts and laymen regarding „everyday“ structures, which most of us tend to ignore.

In addition to exploring the interplay of form and function in the works of Mies, this film gauges our awareness of architectural language and the role of the architect in society. Observations from some superstars of the world of architecture, including Rem Koolhaas, Elizabeth Diller and Phyllis Lambert, are interlaced with anecdotes from regular people who come into daily contact with the eminent architect’s work. Original soundtrack is composed by acclaimed Ramachandra Borcar (a.k.a. DJ Ram).

Details

Country of Production
Canada

Year of Production
2004

Format
Digi Beta Pal

Length
56 min

Director
Joseph Hillel and Patrick Demers

Production
Quatre par Quatre Films Inc. in association with TV Ontario, Bravo!, IFC, Tele-Quebec

Original Language
English, French

Subtitles
English, French

Festivals / Awards

Int. Festival of Films on Art FIFA Montréal 2004 (Award for Best Canadian Work)
Atlantic FF Halifax 2004
Ecocinema Rhodes 2004
Vancouver IFF 2004
Calgary IFF 2004
Asolo Art FF 2004
Docùpolis Barcelona 2004 (Special Mention in the category Best Urban Topics Documentary)
cph:dox Copenhagen 2004
Festival dei Popoli Florence 2004
Festival International du Film d’Environnement Paris 2004
Edition Les Rendez-vous du Cinema Québecois Montréal 2005
Chicago IDF 2005
Rencontre Cinéma Architecture Patrimoine du 20ième ciècle Annecy 2005
Rome Art Festival 2005 (Award for Best Photography)
Melbourne IFF 2005