Film screening at STADTKINO Basel on occasion of the exhibition by Adrian Melis

Kunsthalle Basel presents at STADTKINO Basel on the occasion of the exhibition The Value of Absence by Adrian Melis:

Unfinished Spaces (2011)

Original title: Unfinished Spaces
Produced and Directed by Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray
86 min
DVD, colour, English

On the Golf Course with Che Guevara, Fidel Castro had a revolutionary idea for the area – an art school as an architectural showcase of the Cuban revolution, which attracts dancers, musicians and artists from all over the country shall attract.

In Unfinished Spaces the filmmakers examined the history of this unique project for ten years. The documentary shows how three young architects in the beginning of the Cuban revolution – in a country affected by economic sanctions – try to implement their innovative and radical ideas for an art school. What could have become an extraordinary project remained an unfinished idea, as well as the thoughts of the Cuban revolution were never really carried out. Despite the belief of the architects in the building of an utopian society, they never could realize it. Instead, the first steps of the construction are continually transforming into ruins. But after 45 years Fidel Castro invites the architects to return to the place of their ideas.

Unfinished Spaces explores the complicated history of the Cuban revolution through the access of architecture, beyond the usual clichés of the old Havana and old cars.

The exhibition “The Value of Absence” by Adrian Melis can be visited at Kunsthalle until 26.05.2013.

Location: STADTKINO Basel (Klostergasse 5)
Admission fee: CHF 12.-/Members of the Basler Kunstverein CHF 6.-
With bar