Chandigarh – The Power of Utopia

A Swiss directing duo travels to India “at a time of global upheaval and turmoil” to search for ideas of communal living that are still relevant and feasible today. Sound familiar? Well, there were many after the Beatles, but not everyone returned satisfied. This time, we visit an iconic place. Chandigarh is a city designed by Le Corbusier in the 1950s for 500,000 people. Today, its population is almost one million. The problems it faces in the face of growth, climate change, but also its great success as a “city of happiness” are characteristic of many other metropolises around the world.

What can we learn from its history, structure, urban planning, rules introduced over the years, but also amenities lost over time? This is what the residents, still enchanted with their homeland despite the passing of years and the changes that have taken place (for better and for worse), tell us: a politician and educator, an activist, an architect, and many creative people who have always benefited from this urban utopia. In addition to exploring together a diverse city planned as an organism with symbiotic organs, during the screening we will learn about solutions that have a positive impact on everyday life and observe how space can foster creativity and community behavior in the long term.

Sounds like a dream? Don't worry, there will be a dark side to being an icon!

The screening is organized in cooperation with SARP Wrocław and the National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning..