ADFF Launches Its 18th Season!

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Subject: ADFF Launches Its 18th Season!

August 28, 2026

Hello everyone!

We are living through interesting times. As we get ready for fall, we’re also preparing for another season of some of the best and brightest films from around the world, exploring where design connects with humanity through the lens of cinema.

It is our honor to create a platform to present films and conversations that reflect the complexity and opportunities of the world around us. This year, the stories take us from Chile’s Atacama Desert to neighborhoods in Copenhagen that challenge stereotypes about Danish society.

We have films that frame architecture from the perspective of the people who experience it, and others that confront the frustration and injustice of people not receiving proper credit for the work they helped create.

Across countries, cultures and points of view, this year’s films remind us that architecture and design are never just about buildings and objects. They are about people, places, ideas, and the way we choose to shape the world around us.

See you at the festival!

Kyle Bergman

Festival Director

ADFF Opening Night will be at MoMA with the world premiere of Mundo Frágil, about this year’s Pritzker Prize winner, Smiljan Radić, by acclaimed filmmakers Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine. Smiljan, Ila, and Louise will all attend the screening and take part in a conversation moderated by MoMA’s Martino Stierli.

This year, we are excited to present not one but two films by the remarkable filmmaking duo Bêka & Lemoine: the world premiere of Mundo Frágil and the U.S. premiere of The World in a Square.

The range of Bêka & Lemoine’s work is inspiring: films, books, photography, exhibitions, and the teaching of cinema. Their artistic and human approach to storytelling about architecture, design, and the people who inhabit spaces continues to expand the scope of architectural filmmaking.

We are thrilled to welcome Ila and Louise back to New York with their films and to have them join us for post-screening conversations. It is an honor and a privilege to present their work at ADFF.

MUNDO FRÁGIL

2026 / 90 mins / Italy/France

Directors: Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine

World Premiere

Trailer

MUNDO FRÁGIL is a road movie that takes artist-filmmakers Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine across Chile with architect Smiljan Radić, from the Atacama Desert to the Cordillera mountains. The Chilean terrain becomes the frame through which the film asks how place, myth, and physical matter shape an architect's imagination.

This film will also screen a few other times during the festival.

Six Months of Festivals

The 2026/27 season currently has six festivals on the calendar, with one or two more cities possibly joining the lineup. We open, as always, in New York, and this year we have a very special night planned to launch the season at the Museum of Modern Art.

From New York, the tour heads north to a country we admire, Canada. We have always had great audiences there and can’t wait to be back with our beloved neighbors.

After the New Year, we return to vibrant India with ADFF:STIR MUMBAI. Then we add an exciting new stop to the annual tour: Detroit. From there, we head to the heart of the country for ADFF:CHICAGO.

Stay tuned for announcements about additional cities joining the ADFF tour in spring 2027.

We would also like to acknowledge and thank our presenting sponsors and partners, whose support makes each festival possible. We’re grateful to have such incredible partners helping us bring ADFF to audiences around the world.

ADFF:NY presented by Eventscape

ADFF:TORONTO presented by Eventscape

ADFF: VANCOUVER presented by All in Pictures and Vancouver Special

ADFF:STIR MUMBAI presented by STIR

ADFF:DETROIT

ADFF:CHICAGO presented by the Chicago Architecture Center

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Subject: ADFF Launches Its 18th Season!