Durham
2024 BETTER CITIES FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Saturday Feb 10
Saturday, February 10th, 10am -12pm
Walking Tour
Tour Begins at The Full Frame Theater, The American Tobacco Campus
120 MINS
Downtown Durham
Join us for a pre-festival walk and talk of beautiful Downtown Durham. The Bull City is remarkable for its unique history, ubiquitously present through its major tobacco warehouse re-development projects. Once a city of Brightleaf tobacco, now it is “The City of Medicine,” home to the world-class Duke University and dozens of start-ups, many of them in biotech and genome editing. The walk will discuss how the downtown was catalyzed and what is next for the city. The tour will be led by leaders involved with downtown development.
The walk starts at the Full Frame Theater at the American Tobacco Campus and should take approximately 90-100 minutes.
Lunch is on your own. Recommendations will be provided during the walk.
Saturday, February 10th | 2pm
BLOCK 2 | Housing & Architecture
The Full Frame Theater, The American Tobacco Campus
SHORT FILM BLOCK
90 MINS
Resilient cities are constantly learning and adapting. Housing shortages are widely acknowledged, triggering a debate: do we need supply at all costs? Or can these new developments be lovely and inspirational as well? Is great design a luxury or a necessity? Can we have both abundant housing and great architecture? A speakers panel follows the film block.
Film Lineup:
Building Opportunities | Bridging Communities - Jon Michael Shink, Michael Skinner
Overtown’s Living Legacy- Gina Margillo
Betances Residence - Bilyana Dimitrova Tiny Victories 2.0, A Tale of Empathy - Gustavo
Adventures in Buffaloland Ep 4 -
Borrowed Light Colosal Columbia - Alfredo Atala Layun CNU25.Seattle Pocket Neighborhoods - John Simmernan Marmalade Lane - Jim Stephenson
Tiny Victories 2.0, A Tale of Empathy
Synopsis
"Tiny Victories 2.0. A Tale of Empathy" tells the story of Chioco Design's team journey when building a micro home for an individual who has struggled with chronic and sustained homelessness. How organizations like AIA Design Voice and Mobile Loaves & Fishes works timely to offer hope for the community. The word "empathy" serves as a prompt in the development, and execution, but mostly the idea of leaving behind preconceptions of what it is like to live without a home.
Colosal Columbia
Synopsis
COLOSAL Cerro de la Campana narrates the process of creation of a 25.000 m2 mural that Colectivo Tomate and Comex´s social impact campaign “Comex, Por un México Bien Hecho”, whose intention is to generate connection, community and trust in the emblematic Cerro de la Campana, in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León, throughout workshops, community meetings and spontaneous theater.
Saturday, February 10th | 4pm
BLOCK 3| Southern Urbanism & Main Street Revitalization
The Full Frame Theater, The American Tobacco Campus
SHORT FILM BLOCK
90 MINS
Southern Cities are unique in their relative lack of density, their late blooming, and their recent booming. This block looks at leading short films discussing the challenges and opportunities of Southern city building and how innovative humans are tackling the tasks at hand.
A speakers panel follows the film block. Dinner is on your own, recommendations will be provided.
Film Lineup:
The Rural Studio - Jeff Durkin The Edge of Memphis - Edward Valibus Awesome Tampa Bay: The Urban Conga Broad Ave: The Building of Business - Edward Valibus
Parking - Kronberg Wall Sprawlanta - First and Main The Placeman - Guillermo Bernal
The Rural Studio
Synopsis
A new approach to Architectural education that puts community at the center of design. Based in Newbern, Alabama, the Rural Studio works with the diverse members of the community to find solutions through Architecture. Produced by Breadtruck Films.
The Edge of Memphis
Synopsis
The Edge District in Memphis, Tennessee, is a historic and almost forgotten area found between the revitalized Downtown and Midtown areas. Now, business owners & community organizers look to bring the area back to a thriving place of art, culture, and entertainment.
Saturday, February 10th | 8pm
The Full Frame Theater, The American Tobacco Campus
BLOCK 4 | Zoning & Land Use
SHORT FILM BLOCK
90 MINS
In the final film block of the annual Better Cities Film Festival - South, a series of shorts on principles of New Urbanism is followed by the Southern premiere of Nolan' Gray’s The Spirit of Free Caroline, an investigative report into a rural county considering implementing zoning for the first time.
A speakers panel follows the film block.
Film Lineup:
Built To Last - DLTA Street Futures - Karl Baumann Vancouver Cycle Chic Seaside, The City of Ideas
The Hangout Thoughts on Reimagining Urban Sites: An Archtiect’s Reflections - D. Lovering Big Kids, Little City: Zoning Arbitrary Lines: The Free Spirit of Caroline - Tran Hoang Calvin
Arbitrary Lines: The Free Spirit of Caroline
Synopsis
Noted author and public speaker on issues of zoning and urban planning, M. Nolan Gray, meets his match in the small rural community of Caroline, NY. The anti-zoning battle in this small town becomes a case study for the author to apply his theory to the real-life shops, farms, and personalities of Caroline. This session will include the Southern premiere of "Arbitrary Lines".
Directed By
Tran Hoang Calvin
Seaside, The City of Ideas
Synopsis
Andres Duany takes you on a walking tour of Seaside Florida, "the cradle of New Urbanism" during which he reinterprets the principles of New Urbanism as not only good design, but for their environmental benefits and their economic resilience.