Fundraising Film Screening: Gagarine

Gagarine.

Directors: Fanny Liatard & Jérémy Trouilh
Cast: Alséni Bathily, Lyna Khoudri, Jamil McCraven, Finnegan Oldfield, Farida Rahouadj, Denis Lavant

Youri, 16, has lived all his life in Gagarine Cité, a vast red brick housing project on the outskirts of Paris named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. From the heights of his apartment, he dreams of becoming an astronaut.

Youri’s life and that of Cité Gagarine are deeply entwined: the building contains his childhood memories, and the community there is all he has ever known. But when plans to demolish his community’s home are leaked, Youri joins the resistance. With his friends Diana (Lyna Khoudri of French Dispatch, Papicha) and Houssam, he embarks on a mission to save Gagarine, transforming the estate into his own “starship” – before it disappears into space forever.

The film was shot on the cusp of the actual demolition of the Cité Gagarine housing project in collaboration with its residents in Ivry-sur-Seine.

Cannes Film Festival Official Selection (2020)

“Every shot in this film about those who live on the margins is a masterpiece, every colour – and Gagarine is full of colour – a fierce display of life.” — Reviews Hub

“Urban fantasy Gagarine celebrates community and social housing in a Paris housing estate, with directors Liatard and Trouilh using sci-fi imagery to turn the prosaic into the awe-inspiring” — The Skinny

Panel Discussion: Community and Conservation

In recent years, many post-independence modern buildings are faced with the fate of demolition. The myriad of reasons for this include maintenance issues, diminishing lease periods, governmental plans to redevelop or the residents’ desire to cash out on their properties. Such news impacts those who are unwilling to move the most. Yet their grievances are mostly understated. Some don’t feel they have the right to go against the powers that evict them, while others choose to rally together and fight to stay on. In this dialogue session, we cast a spotlight on community voices about these issues and discuss the sentiments on the ground and what actions have been made to prevent the demolition of their homes.

Panelist

Dilip Doshi: Mr. Dilip Doshi has lived in Singapore for all his life. First working for his father in Singapore’s trading industry, Mr. Doshi was captivated by his work as a supervisor for coolies who unloaded ships that docked at the harbour. Slowly gaining trading contracts, Mr. Doshi was able to start an import/export company by the name Panachand and Co Private Limited. After a vibrant career in the commerce industry, Mr. Doshi continued his passions for business and his community in his retirement with various projects pertaining to modern trade techniques and sustainability. After retiring, Mr. Doshi is an active member in his Bukit Timah community and is involved in Docomomo’s work towards conserving The Arcadia, his current place of residence.

Darren Soh: Darren Soh’s photographic practice explores architecture, urban landscape and space. An established photographer who is most recognised for his documentation of vernacular architecture, Darren has been placed in several international photography awards over the years. His works have been shown widely, and has published several monographs including While You Were Sleeping (2004), For My Son (2015) and In the Still of the Night (2016). Darren was one of the co-founders of Platform.sg, an initiative to showcase photography of Singapore or by Singaporean photographers.

Tan Bee Thiam: Bee Thiam directed Kopi Julia (short film, 2013), Tiong Bahru Social Club (2020), and co-directed Fundamentally Happy (2015). An alumnus of Berlinale Talents and Rotterdam Lab, he produced Revenge of the Pontianak (2019), Demons (2018), Snakeskin (2015), 03-FLATS (2014), As You Were (2014), Eclipses (2013), Red Dragonflies (2010), In the House of Straw (2009) and White Days (2009).

The panel discussion will be moderate by Jiat-Hwee Chang (PhD, Berkeley), an Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore. He has written and co-edited a number of books. The latest is Everyday Modernism, co-written with Justin Zhuang and Darren Soh (photographer). Focusing on how modernist buildings shape society, the book is scheduled to be released in mid-2022.