Film Screening: ‘is this an architectural documentary?’ (2023)

Join the V&A and World Monuments Fund for the UK premiere of a film exploring the work of Modernist Sri Lankan architect Minnette De Silva (1918–1998), followed by a Q&A with Dr Christopher Turner, Curator of Tropical Modernism exhibition; Sumedha Kelegama, Architect and Film-Maker; and Professor Sumayya Vally, Architect and Trustee of WMF Britain.

 

Commissioned by the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka, the film explores De Silva’s influences and the challenges of her design approach in creating one of Sri Lanka’s first social housing projects, the Watapuluwa Housing Scheme (1958). Notably created with the participation of its users, this sprawling hillside development was ahead of its time in providing affordable accommodation for a diverse ethno-religious community of government public servants in Sri Lanka.

 

‘Is this an architectural documentary?’ was supported by the British Council Digital Collaboration Fund.