The film “Melting Souls” by François-Xavier Destors won the Best Documentary award at the 7th edition of the Arquiteturas Film Festival, which took place from June 4 to 9 at Cinema São Jorge in Lisbon.
The jury—composed of architect Ana Tostões, President of DOCOMOMO International; geographer Álvaro Domingues; architect Isabel Barbas; filmmaker Gerrit Messiaen; artist and filmmaker Petra Noordkamp; and architect Tiago Oliveira, representing the Southern Regional Chapter of the Ordem dos Arquitectos (OASRS)—considered it a “documentary film that confronts us with a paradox: from the impossibility of imagining ourselves living in Norilsk, to the feeling that we could have our most extreme experience there.”
“From the editing to the final cut, from the film sequences to the underground intrigue, this film reflects on the transformations in Putin’s Russia and life in a society where one cannot breathe. The soundtrack by a young musician and Norilsk resident heightens the complex love-hate relationship,” the jury noted.
In the New Talents category, the jury awarded “IRIS” by Lea Najjar, which shows how a “project designed by architects offers a fisherman the chance for a more dignified life.” This project sheds light on the “life of this lover of the sea, this guardian of memory whom megalopolises are pushing into a corner and forgetting. The beauty of Lea Najjar’s imagery pays tribute to poetic lives at risk of disappearing,” the jury highlighted.
An *ex-aequo* award was granted in the Experimental Competition category to two films: “Atlas of the Wounded Buildings” by Thadeusz Tischbein—a film “at once violent and poetic”—and “Landing” by Shirin Sabahi, which the jury praised for its “reflective approach to the aspects inherent in the construction of an iconic corporate building.”
In the Fiction category, “Lá vem o Dia (Here Comes the Day)” by Mercês Tomaz Gomes, a “performative, provocative, and unsettling” film, was chosen by the jury. “Lá Vem o Dia” is an “allegory of contemporary life (...) that questions the encounters and missed connections of human relationships,” the jury's report reads.
The Audience Award went to the film “The Proposal” by Jill Magid.
Over six days, the seventh edition of the Arquiteturas Film Festival presented 62 films at Cinema São Jorge, 90 percent of which were Portuguese premieres, alongside several world premieres, as well as a workshop, a guided tour, a children's workshop, and a masterclass.
This article was written by Pedro Vada. The translation is powered by AI.
