Through a review of the long career of Pritzker Prize–winning architect Kevin Roche, who still works full time at the age of 93, the feature-length documentary film Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect examines the relationship between the architecture profession and the public it serves. Roche's architectural philosophy is that "the responsibility of the modern architect is to create a community for a modern society,” which emphasizes the importance for peoples’ well-being to bring nature into the buildings they inhabit. The application of this philosophy is considered via acclaimed buildings such as the Ford Foundation and Oakland Museum. Though much architecture is commissioned at the behest of the rich and powerful, Roche has been able to reconcile his philosophy with the desires of clients who desire buildings that make a statement that reflects on their sense of prestige.
The documentary will be directed by up and coming Irish director Mark Noonan who, like Kevin, graduated in architecture from University College Dublin, before becoming a filmmaker. Mark’s debut fiction feature “You’r e Ugly Too” recently premiered to significant acclaim at the Berlin Film Festival. Also attached to the project is cinematographer Kate McCullough who has received awards for her work at various festivals, including Sundance. Wavelength Pictures has alrea dy obtained the support of the Irish Film Board for the project and is in discussions with other potential funders. It hopes to soon complete fundraising and begin production with a view to a premiere at the end of 2016.
“We wish to thank the Graham Found ation for their generous support and for having faith in our project." said John Flahive, Producer, Wavelength Pictures.
Mark Noonan is a writer/director working in drama and documentary. He studied architecture at University College Dublin, but after graduating in 2007, he opted to follow his other passion and embark on a career as a filmmaker. His debut fiction feature film You're Ugly Too premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2015, and followed to many more around the world. Previously, he created the award-winning shorts Questions and Getting Air, which also screened widely on the festival circuit, and he worked as a production assistant for the BBC. He has been developing Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect with Wavelength Pictures for over a year, and filmed a five-minute showreel in July 2014, funded by an Irish Film Board grant.
John Flahive began his career at the British Film Institute, the UK's principal cultural agency for film, in 1988, where he worked in the acquisition and distribution of cultural feature films and documentaries, including works by Peter Greenaway and Derek Jarman. He left the BFI in 2007 and created Wavelength Pictures, where he continued to distribute arts documentaries such as profiles of Francis Bacon, Guenter Grass, Robert Flaherty, Oscar Niemeyer, and Rem Koolhaas. As producer of Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect, he brings his extensive knowledge of audience to the project.
Kate McCullough is an award-winning Irish cinematographer. Her first feature documentary, the acclaimed His and Hers, received the World Cinematography Award in Documentary at Sundance in 2010. Variety described McCullough's work on her first fiction film Snap, as “balancing the correct doses of dread and hope in a film with just the right amount of gothic visual architecture.”
Mac Dara Ó Curraidhín is an award-winning producer and director of documentaries, since 1996. Often working in his native Irish language, he has produced many profiles of leading figures in the arts and cultural life of Ireland for broadcasters such as RTE (Ireland's national broadcaster), TG-4 (Irish language TV), the BBC, and the Irish Film Board, while filming extensively around the world. He brings his extensive technical knowledge and filmmaking experience to the project.
Founded in December 2007, Wavelength Pictures is a film company that seeks to produce, publish, and distribute thought-provoking and informative arts and cultural documentaries and arthouse feature films. Partnering most often with public broadcasters, public funding bodies, and non-profit foundations and institutions, it seeks to work with independent filmmakers and assemble creative teams to produce, publish, and distribute work which will be highly influential in its field, whether documentary or fiction.
