PLACE is working with the Belfast Film Festival to bring architecture and urban design films to Belfast this year: two highly acclaimed films from 2011, and one classic from 1988.

* Urbanized (2011) – 31st May, 7pm at the MAC
* The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (2011) – 2nd June, 5pm at the BFF Beanbag Cinema
* The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (1988) – 7th June, 9.30pm at the Commercial Court Outdoor Screen

Urbanized / Directed by Gary Hustwit. 2011. 85 mins. USA.

Urbanized is a feature-length documentary about the design of cities, looking at the issues and strategies behind urban design, and featuring some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers. By exploring a diverse range of urban design projects around the world, Urbanized frames a global discussion on the future of cities.

Thurs 31st May, 7pm at The MAC. £6.50.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth / Directed by Chad Friedrichs. 2011. 83 mins. USA.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth tells the story of the decline of the American city after World War II. The film analyses the impact of the 1949 Housing Act, which led to the high-rise public housing of the ’50s and ’60s, initiated the urban renewal programme and prompted the process of mass suburbanisation. The Pruitt- Igoe Myth seeks to set the record straight, to examine the interests in Pruitt- Igoe’s creation, the rumours and the stigma, to implode the myth.

Sat 2nd June, 5pm at BFF Beanbag Cinema. £5.

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces / A film by William H. Whyte. Produced by the Municipal Art Society of New York. Duration: 58 minutes.

This film is based on a city study carried out by William “Holly” Whyte, urbanist and journalist. Through time-lapse observation of how people interact with one another and with public areas, the film shows surprising revelations on how people actually use the urban landscape.

Thurs 7th June, 9.30pm. Outdoor screening at Commerical Court Car Park (Beside Dark Horse and the Duke of York). £2.

For more information and to book tickets please visit the website.