The Architecture and Design Film Festival makes its Canadian debut this year, and Vancouver is the first stop on the list (take that, Toronto). From November 7 to 10, local and international films celebrating design and architecture will be screening at Vancity Theatre and the Scotiabank Dance Centre. There’s over 20 films to choose from, as well post-film talks and director Q and As. Much like designing a landmark building, tackling this fest takes some careful research, planning and plenty of brain food (read: popcorn). Here’s a few of our top picks.

1. PUSH

Friday November 8 at 6:15 p.m.
Saturday November 9 at 9:00 p.m.

This Swedish film explores what happens when cities become financially unlivable.(Relatable, right?) Director Fredrik Gertten follows the lives of three people facing similar problems in different cities: Harlem, Barcelona and London. As cost of living rises, so do government and tensions between the house and the houseless. Canadian Leilani Farha may have an answer, though€”the advocate for the homeless and UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing is determined to hold someone accountable.

2. That Far Corner: Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles

Friday November 8 at 8:45 p.m.
Sunday November 10 at 3:15 p.m.

You have two chances to see this film celebrating the acclaimed American architect (but our Editorial Director Anicka Quin is introducing Friday’s showing, so that’s clearly the superior option). In That Far Corner, writer and director Christopher Hawthorne explores five Mayan-inspired houses Wright built at the beginning of the 20th century, plus his theory of why.

3. Douglas Cardinal: Architect of the Future

Sunday November 10 at 5:00 p.m.

This film, directed by Andrée Cazabon, is a biography of Indigenous Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal. Though he has an impressive resume (including designing the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa), he’s also been a topic of controversy throughout his career. Douglas Cardinal: Architect of the Future is an intimate look at Cardinal’s life€”his wife Idoia is the director€”and an unveiling of the joint pledge between himself and his friend Alex Janvier’s pledge to use art to change Canada’s colonialism.

Architecture and Design Film Festival

November 7-10
Vancity Theatre and Scotiabank Dance Centre, Vancouver
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Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, illustrator and comic artist. Her work has been featured in Vancouver magazine, Western Living, BCBusiness, Avenue, Serviette, Geist, BCLiving, Nuvo, Montecristo, The Georgia Straight and more. Her beats are food, travel, arts and culture, style, interior design and anything dog-related. She publishes a daily autobiographical comic on Instagram at @hialyssacomics.