SHUMI BOSE / KOOZThis is the 12th edition of the Arquiteturas Film Festival and the fifth under your directorship. What is the importance of continuing to investigate the relationship between architecture and film?

PAULO MOREIRAOver the years, we’ve come to understand how film offers a powerful lens to explore and expose architectural issues, often in ways that traditional media or academic formats cannot. It enables us to sense and engage with places, processes, and social conditions that shape the built environment. Since taking over the festival in 2021, each edition has centred on an urgent contemporary theme: migration and inequality; degrowth and slow practice; everyday spatial appropriation and modes of living; decolonisation and ecological collapse; and this year, the many dimensions of ‘borders’.

We also maintain strong community connections. This year’s edition includes a collaboration with the residents’ association of the former Bairro do Aleixo – whose story has drawn the attention of filmmakers over the years - alongside the Institute of Sociology at the University of Porto, in a community-centred programme.

Through this network, the festival has become a platform for examining architectural and spatial questions from diverse perspectives, bringing together architects, filmmakers, researchers, and communities. While film remains central, the festival is far more than a series of screenings: films serve as anchors for broader conversations, expanded through installations, exhibitions, debates, masterclasses, guided visits, and urban walks.

KOOZThis year’s theme of the Arquiteturas Film Festival, “At the Border” or Na Fronteira. Can you talk about some of the ways in which you interpret ‘border’?

PMOur aim with this edition of the festival is to bring together diverse perspectives from architecture, urban thought, and spatial practices to deepen our understanding of borders. The theme “At the Border” is deliberately open to interpretation, and the programme explores how both physical and symbolic boundaries shape built environments and lived territories. Rather than portraying borders in literal terms, most of the selected films examine the conditions they generate, such as the interplay between the social and the spatial, experiences of belonging and displacement, structural violence, and dynamics of oppression and resistance.

ARC EN RÊVEAs an institution dedicated to the mediation of architecture towards wide audiences, not necessarily specialised, we constantly monitor how content can be delivered and we try to experiment ourselves, in our exhibitions for instance.

In the past years, we have noticed how the relative and new ease of access and use of digital filming equipment has meant an increment in the quantity and quality of films, documentaries, and videos about architecture. These can be appreciated from the comfort of your home, watching them on your computer, for instance. Within our exhibitions, models and videos seem to be rather appreciated, more than drawings and pictures. The films that we screen in our galleries work rather well because they allow us to grasp the sense of space and usage in different ways than photography. By following the movement of the camera around a building, it is easier to understand its form, the sequence of spaces, the context, and how people use it. Also, video allows for the deployment of a narrative, where images and text are enmeshed.

As a last point, we noticed that watching a video allows for a change of pace within an exhibition, whereby visitors can sit and pause for a while. Unsurprisingly a large monitor or a projection screen alters our habit of watching things on our phones; this shift in time and perspective is really appreciated.

KOOZClassroom, a teenage view — a project that has taken shape through several institutions, including Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon, Z33 in Hasselt and arc en rêve in Bordeaux — will now be restaged in part at the Arquiteturas Film Festival. Can you share a little about the iteration in Porto, as part of the programme for ‘at the border’?

AERThe Porto iteration will, in fact, focus on the documentaries that we produced for Classroom in 2022. Five schools, designed and built in the ‘50s and ’60s – one in England, one in Germany, one in Portugal and two in France, were selected by the curator, Joaquim Moreno, as examples of the quality and resilience of a certain strain of civic and modernist architecture, capable of adapting through time to meet the needs of students, teacher and staff. For each of them, we produced two short movies, one composed of interviews with the students about their experience of the pace and the other a sort of walk-through of each one of the buildings. These will be composed in a linear montage that will be projected within a dedicated installation during the festival.

KOOZWhat are some of the shifts or tendencies in what we’re seeing within the realm of architectural films, and the submissions you review over the years?

PMBy defining a specific theme that engages with contemporary issues, rather than simply issuing an open call for ‘architectural films’, we’ve naturally refined the scope of submissions. I’ve noticed this more and more: we no longer receive many films that are merely portraits of architects explaining projects or isolated showcases of buildings. One consistent thread we’ve managed to sustain is attracting independent filmmakers, in contrast to the industry-driven focus of many festivals. We find a nice balance between more established production companies and films by emerging filmmakers. I value this atmosphere at the Arquiteturas Film Festival, and we remain committed to nurturing this spirit.

KOOZSílvia, as an architect engaged in interdisciplinary research, your work has long focussed on issues concerning access to housing and adequate living conditions for immigrant and diaspora communities. Could you reflect on the relevance of the theme ‘at the border’ in the current international and national contexts?

SÍLVIA LEIRIA VIEGASWe are in a period of rapid global change. Significant political and economic factors are having a profound impact on our daily lives during this time. Europe is experiencing an increase in perceived threats and hate speech, which has fuelled the growth of far-right movements. There is a general movement towards closing borders, both physical and social. This urges us to become more politically active. I believe that we must use our position of relative or absolute privilege to question, acknowledge, and demand accountability for our shared realities. From the global to the local, and vice versa.

This is particularly relevant with regard to housing and migration, for instance. Housing has become a major global commodity, fuelling strong processes of gentrification and touristification and attracting large amounts of capital and foreign investment. Portugal is no exception to this trend. These complex dynamics have left many people, particularly disadvantaged migrants, facing poor living conditions and limited opportunities.

To address this problem effectively, we must look beyond architecture and learn from other fields, particularly those relating to migration. We must also inform public opinion to raise awareness and effect comprehensive, positive change. Digital media, the arts, artivism and filmmaking can play a crucial role in this by triggering deep emotional responses through creativity. These responses are important for supporting spatial and social diversity, and for promoting intercultural understanding and community building. I have been exploring this at CIAC (University of the Algarve) since 2022.

KOOZYour work proposes and positions the right to the city as a superior right, exploring pivotal yet unglamorous aspects of policy-making, urban governance and public discourse, examining socio-spatial effects on the everyday lives of disadvantaged migrants. On the other hand, your interests include digital media and arts, and the virtual spaces they produce. What are your thoughts on the filmmaking and its ability to provide access to other spaces?

SLVWe need to develop counter-narratives. From studying activism and participating in mobilisations, I have learned that well-informed social demands can have a positive influence on policymaking. In turn, policymaking and urban governance are important for addressing the 'unglamorous' issues you mentioned. I assume you are referring to disruptive societal and spatial matters, such as housing and migration issues. In my view, this positive influence can be achieved by considering the effect of policymaking and urban governance on everyday life, as well as the multitude of possibilities that emerge from it.

This is why counter-narratives that consider these multiple possibilities are so important, particularly given the exponential growth of AI. AI systems use online data to reproduce perceptions of threat and hate speech, and to reinforce securitisation and border control. Therefore, we must provide the digital world with new data and develop these counter-narratives within the digital space. Even better, we must tentatively develop a diverse, intercultural digital space – eventually guided by the superior idea of the right to the city – to drive change. This could influence urban discourse and, consequently, urban space. Digital filmmaking can enrich this digital landscape by challenging established narratives, amplifying marginalised voices, and captivating audiences with powerful imagery.

KOOZPlease do feel free to share some of your insights — and highlights — from your role as part of the selection committee for this year’s festival.

SLVI was on the selection committee for this edition alongside Ana Miguel Regedor, Isabel Carvalho and Mira Samonig. It was a fascinating and rewarding process, during which we watched, discussed and analysed over one hundred short and feature-length films from thirty-eight different countries. Unfortunately, we were unable to screen two films that were particularly important to me. I would like to highlight them: Silence of Reason (2023) by Kumjana Novakova, and Hopes from the Tree (2024) by Haydar Demirtaş. The former is a disturbing film addressing war crimes committed against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It revisits the urban areas and buildings where the crimes occurred and provides an account of the multiple rapes and other forms of physical and mental abuse that took place there. The second film addresses the reinforcement of borders with landmines during the Iran–Iraq War, as well as the production and use of wooden prosthetic feet today.

One of my favourite films at this year's AFF was Twin Fences (2024) by Yana Osman. This clever and ironic film tells the story of the mass production of standardised concrete fences in the Soviet Union. It portrays politically and socially accepted practices as absurd and addresses issues such as personal violence, Islamophobia and hatred. I also felt it was important to select Free Words: A Poet from Gaza (2024) by Abdullah Harun Ilhan, as it reflects my political stance on the ongoing genocide in Gaza. I must stress that the selection process was challenging, as there were so many outstanding and important films to choose from.

KOOZAs director of arc en rêve, Fabrizio Gallanti joined the jury in reviewing the shortlisted submissions for the AFF awards — this year to be marked with new and physical trophies as well as the worthy accolade. Were there common themes, concerns or filmic devices — and were there many divergences of opinion in the jury?

AERThe jury found very quickly a harmonised consensus about the movies that will receive awards. The real difficulty was the very high quality of the finalists, that brought us to rich conversations, before proceeding to the final choices. Without revealing too much — as the winners will be announced at the festival — one could say that there was a common thread about the relationship between people and spaces. One could also say that all the movies adopted a very strong political viewpoint to look at architecture and cities. Architecture is more a prism from which to understand society, rather than the subject itself of the movies that were in the final run.

KOOZOne of the more generous and situated aspects of AFF is that it often gives back to and addresses the condition of Porto, as the host city, and of Portugal itself. Can you tell us more about the Portugal Special strand in your programming?

PMThe Portugal Special programme has become a recurring thread in the festival, introduced to foreground questions rooted in the local and national context. While the Official Programme and Guest Institution sections tend to be more international in scope, this strand focuses on issues specific to Portugal. This year, the programme centres on a social research and community initiative exploring the collective memory of residents from Bairro do Aleixo, a public housing neighbourhood in Porto that was fully demolished between 2011 and 2019. Former residents were displaced and relocated, often experiencing significant disruption to their lives.

Our aim is to create a space for sharing these stories of displacement, shaped by processes of urban transformation and social marginalisation. The programme features the premiere of a preliminary version of Memoria Futura (Future Memory), a documentary tracing the history and ongoing work of the Aleixo Residents' Association, which remains active and celebrates its 50th anniversary this year despite the neighbourhood’s physical disappearance. This collaborative project is developed with the community and the Institute of Sociology of the University of Porto, among other partners.

Also included are screenings of films shot in Aleixo: Russa (2018) by João Salaviza and Ricardo Alves Jr, and Bicicleta (2013) by Luís Vieira Campos, along with a short animated film based on drawings and voices of children of former residents. The programme concludes with a guided walk through the now-vacant neighbourhood site and a visit to the ongoing exhibition Aleixo: 5 Towers, 5 Decades, which reflects on the community’s legacy and possible futures.

KOOZFinally, commenting on the selection of Portuguese films featured in the official programme; Sílvia, can you expand on these in relation to the major global issues that you have mentioned already?

SLVI found two more films very important because they address issues affecting Portugal, such as urban and housing paradigms, peripheralisation, social discrimination, spatial segregation, and evictions. These films are: Maio (2025) by Claudio Carbone and Outra Ilha (2024) by Eduardo Saraiva Pereira. My view of the first documentary is biased, as I have been involved in housing mobilisations in Lisbon since 2017. I knew the 6 de Maio neighbourhood, where the film is set, as well as the protagonist and the depicted housing problem. The message is clearly political.

The second film explores the everyday problems, struggles and frustrations experienced by immigrants in Portugal, revealing their disappointment at failing to achieve a better life. These themes are closely aligned with those in the opening film, Mother City (2024) by Pearlie Joubert and Miki Redelinghuys. As Paulo Moreira mentioned, Mother City "sets a powerful tone for this year's edition" and encapsulates many of the event's themes, including class struggles, gender issues, spatial apartheid, structural violence, social mobilisation and resistance, and the distribution of power.

KOOZThank you so much for your time.

Bios

arc en rêve is an architecture center founded in Bordeaux in 1981. Based in the Entrepôt, it presents exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and publications on architecture, cities, and the built and natural environment. For over 40 years, it has broadened the understanding of architecture, creating a space for dialogue and critical reflection on how we inhabit and transform the world.

The Arquiteturas Film Festival is a platform for discussing and disseminating architecture through films, installations, debates, and walks, organised by INSTITUTO. It features a programme with three sections: Official, Guest Institution and Portugal Special. The festival takes place in various venues across the city, including: Batalha Centro de Cinema, Casa Comum, Canal 180, Circo de Ideias, and INSTITUTO.

Paulo Moreira is an architect and researcher based in Porto and Johannesburg. He is the founder and artistic director of INSTITUTO, and the director of Arquiteturas Film Festival. Moreira is a research fellow at Wits University, and is the author of Reciprocidades (Circo de Ideias, 2023) as well as editor of Critical Neighbourhoods – The Architecture of Contested Communities (Park Books, 2022), and Aprender a Desaprender (Dafne, 2024), which was the recipient of the FAD Award for Thought and Criticism in Barcelona in 2025.

Sílvia Leiria Viegas is an architect and a researcher based at the CIAC-UAlg. She is developing the project Refugee Research for (Post)Covid-19. National Measures and Local Actions in the Algarve: A Digital Tour for Access to Adequate Housing and Living Conditions (2022-2028). She completed a PhD at the Lisbon School of Architecture in 2015 and was a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, from 2017 to 2022. Her research interests include architecture, urban studies, housing, migration and, more recently, digital media arts.

Shumi Bose is chief editor at KoozArch. She is an educator, curator and editor in the field of architecture and architectural history. Shumi is a Senior Lecturer in architectural history at Central Saint Martins and also teaches at the Royal College of Art, the Architectural Association and the School of Architecture at Syracuse University in London. She has curated widely, including exhibitions at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 2020 she founded Holdspace, a digital platform for extracurricular discussions in architectural education, and currently serves as trustee for the Architecture Foundation.