Brasília: Life After Design

The utopian city of Brasilia is in transition more than half a century later. What is it like to live in someone else’s idea? A meditation on living in one of the most planned cities on earth. Brasília is unlike any other: a concrete utopia designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer and urbanist Lúcio Costa that spawned out of the desert. Featuring a haunting, intimate score and images that take us deep into the city, this documentary brings a human face to the utopian ideal.

Director and producer. Bart Simpson is an award-winning filmmaker, interested in films that entertain, evoke and engage public debate. He produced and acted as 2nd unit director on the feature documentary The Corporation (winner at over 25 festivals including Sundance, Toronto and International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam) other films and collaborations include Moebius Redux: A Life In Pictures, about acclaimed artist Jean “Moebius” Giraud (Best Documentary and Best Film at Comicon International, broadcast on ZDF-ARTE, BBC, Bravo!, Canal D among others) and Bananas!*, a film about a landmark court case where Nicaraguan banana workers fought fruit company Dole over decades of alleged chemical harms. The film drew Dole’s attention and they sued the filmmaking team - resulting in another film, Big Boys Gone Bananas! (selected by Sundance, IDFA and screened worldwide). After visiting Brasília by chance in 2004, Bart returned in 2010 to conduct one of Oscar Niemeyer’s last interviews. Three years later, Bart moved to Brasília and started production on Brasilia: Life After Design.

DOK.fest München 2018 – BEST DOKS Audience Favorites / DOK.panorama