The Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF) returns tonight to the TIFF Lightbox and carries on through Saturday with a raft of films for lovers of the built environment, from the buildings we live, work and play in, to objects we use every day to make our lives more productive and happier.

This year's opening night film chronicles the accomplishments of iconic Canadian architect Arthur Erickson. Presented with a Q&A this evening at 7 PM and repeated on Saturday evening at 9 PM, Beauty Between the Lines combines "intimate interviews, unseen archival footage, and an exploration of his architectural masterpieces" to present the challenges and triumphs of Erickson’s personal life and career as he broke from norms and "who fused art, culture, and nature and in the process, redefined modern architecture".

Still from Beauty Between the Lines, image courtesy of ADFF

On Thursday and Friday evenings, and across Saturday afternoon and evening, films will cover the work of

• RM Schindler whose "space architecture" came to define California-style living
• Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi, who look over the works of their partnership in a tragi-comic road movie style retrospective
• Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa and his passion for Japanese culture

Still from Stardust: The Story of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, image courtesy of ADFF

A number of films consider the house and the question of housing.

• This is Not a House explores a unique Robin Donaldson-designed home that fuses art, technology, and play
• The House: 6 Points of Departure studies to highly-studied Crawford house in Montecito, Califormia
• Living Together: the story of De Warren follows young people creating a sustainable, social, and affordable housing cooperative

Still from Living Together: the story of De Warren, image courtesy of ADFF

The world of design is explored in several films.

• Biocentrics digs into how biomimicry could shape our future in a way that responds to challenges we face globally
• Where We Grow Older questions the roles of urban design and politics in the challenges of housing our aging population
• Sitting Still considers Laurie Olin's landscape architecture; while his name is not well known, his gardens and parks are amongst America's most beloved

Still from Biocentrics, image courtesy of ADFF

Described above are only a portion of the offerings at ADFF. You can learn about all of the films at the festival, and in greater depth here, while tickets can be obtained here. A number of the screenings include panel discussions. All films play at the TIFF Lightbox between October 23 and 26, 2024.