That Far Corner: Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles + Redemption Square

Architecture & Design Film Festival: NOLA

Program #2

Synopsis

That Far Corner: Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles

Director: Christopher Hawthorne

2018 / 56 min / USA

During his time in Southern California in the 1910s and early 1920s, Frank Lloyd Wright accelerated the search for an authentic L.A. architecture that might be experimental but also responsive to the city's history, culture and landscape. Writer/Director Christopher Hawthorne, architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times, explores the five Maya-inspired houses the legendary architect built in Los Angeles in that period. The documentary also delves into the critic's provocative theory that these designs were a means of artistic catharsis for Wright, who was recovering from a violent, tragic episode in his life.

Redemption Square

Director: John Moody

2018 / 20 min / USA

In the footsteps of many unique Angelenos, a down-on-her-luck woman finds a new identity in Pershing Square, a notoriously unloved space in downtown Los Angeles. Redemption Square explores how the design of public space can change a person's life. Narrated by dozens of Angelenos, the story takes viewers into one public space at the heart of Los Angeles during five eras of its transformation—from its creation in 1866 through its impending redesign today—and offers an alternative vision for LA's public life based on the diverse perceptions, memories and identities that come together in this place every day.

Q&A session is included with this screening.