Why We Produce Films

Over the years, the LAF board and executive staff have recognized the profound positive impact architectural film documentaries have on promoting architecture. This first became apparent when the LAF worked with the national for three years; the LAF made New Orleans one of six North American host cities of the Architecture & Design Film Festival. Working with the New York City-based organizers, the LAF hosted the New Orleans Architecture & Design Film Festival and sponsored a Short Film Contest for high school, college, and professional levels.

In 2020, with the film-making team of Rational Middle Media (RMM), the LAF produced and completed its first architectural documentary called “Unexpected Modernism.” The little-known story of 20th-century modernist Shreveport architects Bill and Samuel Wiener, the film debuted online to a global audience in 2020. Amid the pandemic, the film was screened at various venues throughout the state and aired numerous times statewide on Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB). Public reaction to the film has been so tremendous that the LAF is currently working with sponsor station LPB to submit “Unexpected Modernism” for national air-time consideration on PBS.

The LAF’s second film, “Ancestral Artistry,” is a result of the LAF’s commitment to focusing on creating films that shine a light on the influence of Africans and Creole of Color in Louisiana architecture’s 300-year history.