Film Screening: Medianeras

Medianeras (the name of this home-grown Argentine movie) is a Spanish term that refers to the tall and often windowless side façade of buildings. Gustavo Taretto (writer/Director) is trying to describe the network of interactions generated in Buenos Aires city as a representation of life in the modern era; this life which is full of segregation, contradictions and congestion. He also criticizes that modernity brought people closer in the world but further from their own lives.

The camera lingers on the skyline and the individual buildings of Buenos Aires, gray and inhuman. The buildings are seemingly endless, and many have blank, windowless sidewalls. These blank spaces are used for billboards, an ugly alternative to what could have been light-bringing windows, and many apartment- dwellers rebel by chipping through the concrete to place unauthorized windows.Despite the urban philosophizing and exciting cinematography, “Medianeras” does not demand to be taken too seriously. It’s enjoyable romantic comedy movie.

Megawra  has pleasure of inviting you to screening Medianeras and discussing how close the architecture status in Buenos Aires to the one we live in Cairo. And the effect of the city as architectural product on our daily life.

Coordinator: Kareem Nems