Located 2000 kilometres from the Amazon and 18 hours from Rio, the city of Brasília - the capital of Brazil - is a mythical place: a concrete utopia born out of the desert. In 1956 at the rebirth of Brazilian democracy, visionary architect Oscar Niemeyer and urbanist Lúcio Costa invented an urban plan and structures that would attempt to micromanage the daily activity of human life. The unabashed goal was to create the space that would birth “the new Brazilian citizen”.

Now the stark beauty of the city acts as a backdrop to isolation, changing values, and the dynamic power and politics of today’s Brazil. The remnants of Niemeyer and Costa’s dream echo through the lives of planners, students, street vendors and artists, each trying to make their mark in the city of today.

Featuring a haunting, intimate score and images that take us deep into the city, Brasilia: Life After Design brings a human face to a utopian ideal - what is it like to live in someone else’s idea?

Festivals:
Sheffield DocFest 2017
Bergen International Film Festival 2017
Arquiteturas Film Festival, Lisbon 2017
Environmental Film Festival Australia 2017
Planet in Focus Film Festival, Toronto Canada 2017
Margaret Mead Film Festival, New York USA 2017
Dart Film Festival, Barcelona 2017
DOK.fest München 2018