FILM SCREENINGS AT COP17

eThekwini Municipality and the Architects’ Collective will host a series of film screenings from December 1 to 9 alongside the Repurpose: Architecture in Public Spaces exhibition.

The screenings are part of the events surrounding the United Nations 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) currently taking place in Durban.

Ten pertinent films have been selected, which revolve around sustainable city development and the issues of climate change inherent to the COP 17 conference. All of the films will be imperative viewing, as they debate the future of our evolving urban environments. Many of the films are fresh off the festival circuit where they have been awarded and highly commended.

One such film is Wasteland, a stirring documentary about the recyclers who inhabit and earn a living off the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

For those who dream of modernist architecture, The Pruitt-Igoe Myth is the moving story of a post-WW2 housing project in St. Louis that failed dramatically. Critically, though, this film details holistically the many reasons for its failure.

The film selection is equally representative of the challenges we face locally. Starting with Rehad Desai’s The Battle for Johannesburg which depicts the plight of the many who live informally or illegally in inner city high-rise buildings, subjected to the challenges posed by poverty and unscrupulous landlords.

Also hard-hitting, The Uprising of Hangberg gives voice to the residents in an informal settlement in Hout Bay who experienced the humiliation and confusion of an illegal eviction and police brutality in 2010. These films are, without exception, stories that need to be heard.

The screenings are free of charge and take place at 14h30 and 17h30, until December 9 at the Priority Zone, 77 Monty Naicker Road in Durban. For more information, please go to www.aaff.co.za