The film Volume II: Inhabiting the Territory is part of the project From the Periphery, which comprises a trilogy of documentaries exploring various themes related to contemporary Latin American architecture.
This second installment is an audiovisual essay focusing on the academic practice of the Talca School of Architecture and its relationship with the inhabitant, the landscape, and the materiality of Chile's Central Valley through the experience of the Taller de Obras. Specifically, the narrative is set during the 2006 edition of the course, held in the town of Curtiduría under the theme of vulnerability as the workshop's central axis.
The film's director, José Luis Uribe, notes that "The idea was to make a film that would serve as a counterpoint to Volume I: Ugly, Dirty & Bad. Contemporary Architecture in Latin America, which featured a single location, a narrative structure centered on oral history, and approached the human dimension of a specific group of Latin American architects. This new film explores a part of the Latin American territory; by setting itself in a small rural town in central Chile, dialogue is eliminated, and the viewer witnesses an experience centered on architectural education in one of the most experimental schools in Latin America. The camerawork is gritty and earthy. It goes against the stylization and overexposure of the architectural image, guided instead by imperfection and error associated with narrative experimentation.”
This narrative arc is established through a subjective camera that acts as a witnessing narrator of the workshop's development. The footage comes from a collection of Hi8 tapes from 2006, which the filmmaker recovered years ago.
“Conceptually, this film is a found footage piece. Additionally, during the writing process of the initial drafts of the project, the visual references were the opening of John Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence (1974), Michael Haneke's Caché (2005), Juan Carlos and Patricio Bustamante's Domingo de Gloria (1980), and the cinema of the Dardenne brothers,” the director states.
Starting in September 2023, Volume II: Inhabiting the Territory will begin screening at film festivals, art galleries, and biennials, before being presented at universities and academic institutions.
From the Periphery is a project directed by José Luis Uribe, architect, PhD, and professor at the School of Architecture of the University of Talca (Chile). It is funded by the 2020 Artistic Creation Fund of the Research Directorate of the University of Talca (Chile) and the 2021 National Fondart of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage.
This article was written by Magdalena Casamitjana. The translation is powered by AI.
