Century of the City Box Set

Synopsis

The four DVDs in this box set are part of the cross-media festival Centuries of the City that the VPRO held in association with the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam in September/October 2009 on radio, television, internet. For the first time in history, more than half the world’s population lives in cities - often in slums - and the global migration to the city continues. But traditional ways of life remain. This collection of four documentaries looksat the future of the city and how it connects with the past. What determines the quality of life in the city? What works and what does not?

Individual titles are: I AM GURGAON, THE NEW CITY IN INDIA; GRAND PARIS; THE PRESIDENT AND THE ARCHITECT; COMING TO THE CITY; STAYIN’ ALIVE IN JO’BURG.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of release

2011

Year of production

2010

Subjects

Architecture; Geography

Keywords

cities; social geography; urban development

Credits

Director

Bregtje van der Haak; Marije Meerman; Rob Schröder

Distribution Formats

Type

DVD

Format

Region 2 PAL

Price

25.95 euros

Availability

Sale

Duration/Size

205 minutes

Year

2011

Sections

Title

I am Gurgaon, the New City in India

Synopsis

The shining facades of Gurgaon, a satellite city of New Delhi, are symbols of India’s unparalleled economic growth. Gurgaon was built at the turn of this century by the largest project developers in the world. A village 15 years ago, it has now grown into a city of 1,4 million inhabitants, but with little or no infrastructure. How viable is this new type of city? Residents of the gated communities of this privatized society offer insights in their hope, desires, and in the new self-confidence of the Indian middle class. Gradually it becomes clear what the consequences of the credit crisis and the growing gap between rich and poor are for the city and the psyche of its inhabitants.

Available in full on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMwceo7nVLY

Duration

50 mins

Title

Grand Paris: the President and the Architect

Synopsis

Paris was the first truly modern large city and it has remained largely unchanged since the 1860s. Now, President Nicolas Sarkozy has a vision to turn Paris into a model super-metropolis for the 21st century. To realize his vision, Sarkozy’s government engages 10 star architects, including France’s Djamel Klouche and Roland Castro, Mike Davies from the UK, and Winy Maas, from Holland. Their mission: to spend a year rethinking Paris. The film offers a compelling chronicle of the process, as the architects try to distil months of research and discussion into workable plans. It takes us inside some of the world’s top architectural firms, as they compete for an opportunity to reshape one of the world’s greatest cities. The film focuses particularly on Dutch architect Winy Maas.

NB Also available from Icarus Films

Duration

50 mins

Title

Coming to the City

Synopsis

Andala, Maria, Nick and Dong Bing live on four different continents, but have one thing in common: they have all decided to go to the city to start a new life. For six months, the local video correspondents of Metropolis followed these newcomers. Each of them comes with a dream: rich kid Nick comes to New York hoping to make it as an actor on Broadway; Maria flees the violence in the Colombian countryside in search of a safe place for her two children in Bogota. Each newcomer also has his own strategy: Dong Bing is quite picky when it comes to finding a job in Shanghai, while Andala accepts just about anything he can get in the Zambian capital Lusaka. Four newcomers - who will make it and who won’t? And how far are they willing to go to become part of the city?

Duration

50 mins

Title

Stayin ‘Alive in Jo’burg

Synopsis

Johannesburg is the largest economic metropolis in Africa. Downtown Johannesburg, however, is one of the world’s most violent places. Most office buildings have been vacated or squatted and are occupied by several groups of illegal Africans from neighbouring countries. Thousands of fortune seekers are trying to build a new life in this anarchist urban jungle. Director Rob Schröder visited the city several times to paint a picture of the changes the city was making to improve its image as it prepared to host the World Cup in 2010.

Duration

56 mins

Distributor (Sale)

Name

VPRO

Email

nfo@vpro.nl

Web

http://winkel.vpro.nl/Eeuw-van-de-stad-verzamelbox External site opens in new window

Phone

+31 035 671 2911

Fax

+31 035 671 2100

Address

Media Park
Sumatralaan 49
1217 GP Hilversum
Netherlands