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The Ark Rex Architecture Film Festival was founded in 2019. Since that year, it has been organised in November, every second year. In 2024, there was also a one-evening stopover event. The festival was originally founded in collaboration with the Amos Rex Art Museum. One important reason was that the museum also owns one of Helsinki’s most famous old and big cinemas. The Glass Palace cinema Bio Rex with its lobbies, is already a legend, and the location on Mannerheimintie is also the best possible, considering both the festival audience and our international guests.
The 2025 event has been scheduled for mid-November: Saturday and Sunday, 15 and 16 November, just before the start of the holiday season.
The challenges facing architecture and the profession of architects and engineers are now immense: far too much is being demolished or made redundant in Finland. New housing that is too cramped with tiny but expensive apartments is constantly being built in cities, while the still highly liveable countryside is being emptied of inhabitants by closing village schools and concentrating even basic health services in bigger cities.
Climate problems are increasing at an unexpected rate. There is a horrible housing shortage in many parts of the world, and at the same time, wars are wreaking havoc; the world, let alone the built environment, is by no means ready. Transnational real estate investment companies are taking over the construction sector everywhere, and to top it all, mass tourism is becoming a problem in places where there is already beauty, but soon all that will vanish, together with local inhabitants who are recklessly pushed away.
Amidst all these challenges, the themes and films of the festival mustn’t lead us to overly gloomy thoughts. That is why we also take our audience to beautiful buildings and stunning landscapes, and to meet people who believe in the power of high-quality architecture and bold experiments. We also meet architects who are also artists. One of them has both built new buildings and wanted to protect magnificent natural areas from construction and the destruction of ancient landscapes, and done that through his art. We shall also meet some architects who themselves have become enthusiastic about making films.
The program is prepared by a small but enthusiastic expert working group with the leadership of the artistic director. This time, a representative of the general audience has also been invited to join in.
The autumn festival programme in 2025 will feature full-length or shorter architecture films by Swiss, American, German, Belgian, French and Danish filmmakers. They are directed by both top-level professionals and individuals who have made their first foray into architecture films. There will also be at least one special premiere of a full-length documentary film about an important institution with its fantastic collections and old and new buildings.
The detailed program of the two-day festival will be made public at the beginning of October. The event will be accompanied by a charming exhibition, especially created for the event. Even a free program with videos and discussions and suitable for all types of audiences, is also available in the elegant foyers of Bio Rex.
Ticket sales will begin at the beginning of October
| Location The main entrance to Bio Rex is in the Lasipalatsi, on the Mannerheimintie side. The nearest metro stops are Kamppi and Rautatieasema, both of which can be reached without crossing busy roads. The tram stop (Lasipalatsi) is in front of the museum on Mannerheimintie. Accessibility and accessibility: Accessible entrance via the Lasipalatsi square. Accessible lifts are located in the museum lobby. The Bio Rex hall has a gently sloping staircase. Wheelchair spaces on the upper level in front of the door. Accessible toilets are on the side of the Glass Palace restaurant — access via the lift corridor. |
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Location
The main entrance to Bio Rex is in the Lasipalatsi, on the Mannerheimintie side. The nearest metro stops are Kamppi and Rautatieasema, both of which can be reached without crossing busy roads. The tram stop (Lasipalatsi) is in front of the museum on Mannerheimintie.
Accessibility and accessibility:
Accessible entrance via the Lasipalatsi square. Accessible lifts are located in the museum lobby. The Bio Rex hall has a gently sloping staircase. Wheelchair spaces on the upper level in front of the door. Accessible toilets are on the side of the Glass Palace restaurant — access via the lift corridor.
In addition to the artistic director, the film festival’s program is planned by Elizaveta Parkkonen, the chairwoman of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Architects Association, Helena Teräväinen, architect and doctor of technology, Jere Pääkkönen, architect SAFA, who will soon be defending his thesis on film, Petteri Kummala, head of the research, publication and library departments of the Museum of Architecture and Design, and Pia-Marie Lahti, representing the audience. Of course, our other great presenter and YLE journalist Jonni Roos, who has made architecture documentaries himself, is a member. The director of the group and the founder of Ark Rex (in 2019 and together with Amos Rex’s Kaj Martin) is the artistic director, architect SAFA Tarja Nurmi.
Contact information
Tarja Nurmi
Architect SAFA,
architecture critic AICA,
Founder and curator of Ark Rex
phone: 0456765636
email: arkkivahti@gmail.com
In addition to the artistic director, the film festival’s program is planned by Elizaveta Parkkonen, the chairwoman of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Architects Association, Helena Teräväinen, architect and doctor of technology, Jere Pääkkönen, architect SAFA, who will soon be defending his thesis on the film, Petteri Kummala, head of the research, publication and library departments of the Museum of Architecture and Design, and Pia-Marie Lahti, representing the audience. Of course, our other great presenter and YLE journalist Jonni Roos, who has made architecture documentaries himself, is a member. The director of the group and the founder of Ark Rex (in 2019 and together with Amos Rex’s Kaj Martin) is the artistic director, architect SAFA Tarja Nurmi.
Contact Information
Tarja Nurmi
Architect SAFA, architecture critic AICA,
Founder and curator of Ark Rex
phone: 0456765636
email: arkkivahti@gmail.com
