Space in Cinema; Time in Architecture

Interdisciplinary exploration of cinema and architecture.

On campus Workshop
in Auroville
from 1st to 4th September 2022

With Avijit Mukul Kishore and Rohan Shivkumar

Course Overview:
While Time is seen as the primary domain of interest within the fields of music and moving image practices, Spatial understanding and design are seen as the key elements of painting, photography, sculpture and architecture. However, each has a significant influence and affect on the other. Space in Cinema; Time in Architecture is a four-day workshop that will explore the possible overlaps between the two disciplines of Cinema and Architecture as spatio-temporal art forms. It will look at the possible learnings for each discipline from the expertise of the other. The programme will include screenings and exercises in detailed analysis through the interdisciplinary framework of fiction and documentary film, architecture and visual art.

The workshop will be conducted in-person in Auroville, an intentional township off the Coromandel Coast in South India, next to Pondicherry. The city was dreamt for the purpose of human unity and transformation of consciousness. Architect Roger Anger designed the city in a ‘Galaxy concept’ which subsequently got drawn into a Masterplan. The physical development as per the masterplan is expedited now with 2025 in perspective. Home to a multicultural community of residents from 59 nationalities, Auroville at present, like a city in a forest and a forest in a city will form a mesmerizing ground for interdisciplinary exploration of space-time constructs in cinematic arts and architecture.

Course Directors – Avijit Mukul Kishore and Rohan Shivkumar:
Avijit Mukul Kishore and Rohan Shivkumar’s shared passions for film and architecture rendered them natural collaborators. Kishore is a filmmaker and cinematographer who stretches the boundaries of documentary filmmaking, incorporating multidisciplinary elements as he explores the capacity and influence of moving images. Shivkumar is an urban designer and architect interested in the social issues that shape usage of and infrastructure around built spaces. As collaborators they have delved into an exploration of Indian modernity that encompasses a look at the country’s changing citizenry and evolving ideas about how architecture defines notions of home, spotlighted in their recent film  Nostalgia for the Future, which was part of Chicago Architecture Biennial (2019-2020), screened at Documenta 14 (Athens, 2017) and Dhaka Art Summit (2018) and awarded the Best Documentary Award at IDSFFK, Trivandrum. Kishore has directed nearly a dozen films and worked as a cinematographer on more than fifty. Shivkumar has served as principal of his own architecture and interior design firm since 2002 and is the Dean of Bachelors at Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture, Mumbai. Both have deep roots in academia, regularly giving lectures, publishing articles, and curating film programmes. Their other films are Vertical City (2010), Electric Shadows (2016), Squeeze Lime in Your Eye  (2018) and Lovely Villa – Architecture as Autobiography (2019).

Who is it for :
We invite students and practitioners of cinematic arts and architecture. Filmmakers, Cinematographers, Visual Artists, Vloggers, Social Scientists, Researchers, Town Planners, Civil Engineers, Urban Designers, Production Designers, Art Directors, Interior Decorators, Story Tellers, Creative Entrepreneurs and Explorers of kinds – welcome !

Selection Criteria: 
First – Come – First – Served basis. 

Registration Fees:
₹ 4130 – for 4 days workshop.
(The fee does not include accommodation – participants will be guided to book their own accommodation with a range of options available in and around Auroville)

Voluntary payment for Aurovilians.

Accommodation: 
Outstation participants may book accommodation via Auroville Guest Accommodation Service. Feel free to reach out to us if you need recommendations based on your budget and other preferences. We’ll gladly assist.

Travel Guidance & Local Mobility:
Trains to directly to Pondicherry are resumed from most parts of India. To Chennai, all trains as well as all flights are fully operational. There are several options of local buses and passenger trains from Chennai to Auroville; it takes about 3-4 hours (approx. 150km). For those preferring to travel by taxi, we recommend Auroville based taxi services as they can pick up from anywhere you are and drop straight to the respective Auroville guest house. Please check Auroville Shared Transport service.

We recommend renting bicycles/ e-cycles/ motorcycles for mobility within Auroville periphery. The Guesthouse may facilitate booking. Standard Rentals are anywhere between Rs. 40 to 150/ day depending on kind of 2-wheeler.

Please visit www.auroville.org for orientation and additional information on Auroville.

Certificates: 
All participants will receive certificate of participation.

Queries:
For any queries, please write to: support_filminstitute@auroville.org.in or call / message +919969879319. Further details of the workshop can be shared upon request.

Apply by:
28th August 2022