official programme
guest institution
portugal special
official programme
Architecture invariably operates in relation to borders - whether through them, beyond them, alongside them, or in their absence. Based on this understanding, this edition’s Official Programme offers a critical reading of these entanglements through a carefully curated selection of 14 films, organised into six thematic sessions. The themes explore the relationship between architecture and borders, raising issues such as human rights, migration, violence, oppression, and resistance. The films reveal how borders - as both concept and condition - shape and are shaped by social and spatial structures, affecting identities and everyday life. All films in the Official Programme are in competition, and the programme culminates in an award ceremony honouring the winners with a custom-designed trophy. The screenings are further enriched by two public debates and a masterclass, providing deeper engagement with the themes and questions raised by the films. The film selection was made in collaboration with two Algarve-based institutions: CIAC – Centre for Research in Arts and Communication and Cineclube de Faro.
portugal special
This programme is a social research and community intervention initiative aimed at the (re)creation of a memory community of residents from Bairro do Aleixo, in Porto, who were evicted and relocated to other public housing neighbourhoods following the demolition of that residential area between 2011 and 2019. The project seeks to (re)build a space for sharing and dialogue around trajectories and experiences of residential and social mobility, marked by significant changes in life circumstances - changes that were, in many cases, compulsory and repeated, often linked to processes of political and social relegation. The preliminary version of a documentary is presented for the first time, portraying the origins, trajectory, and future outlook of the residents' association. The programme also includes a screening of two films shot in Aleixo and a guided walk through the former neighbourhood site, with a stop at an exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of the Aleixo Residents’ Association, which remains active despite the physical disappearance of the neighbourhood. This programme is part of the ‘Dislocations’ initiative, in partnership with the Institute of Sociology and the Museum of the Person.
guest institution
In 2025, the festival welcomes arc en rêve centre d’architecture (Bordeaux) as its Guest Institution. Founded in 1981, arc en rêve is an independent architecture centre that promotes critical engagement with architecture, urbanism, and the built and natural environment through exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and publications. The Guest Institution programme includes several components: a screening at Batalha Centro de Cinema; two video installations at INSTITUTO - one featuring videos from the exhibition Classroom. A Teenage View (previously presented at arc en rêve, Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon, and Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture in Hasselt), and another showcasing short films on public spaces in Latin America, commissioned for the exhibition Libre Acceso; and a presentation and debate on arc en rêve’s broader work and its role as a cultural institution dedicated to architecture, hosted at Circo de Ideias. This programme is part of MaisFRANÇA 2025, an initiative of the Institut Français du Portugal.
organiser
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