In the summer of 2022, DnA was invited to design a potential museum building on Meizhou Island, located off the coast of principal architect Xu Tiantian’s hometown of Putian. Famous as the site that gave birth to the cult of the sea goddess Mazu, the island is an environment where religious pilgrimage and mass tourism, traditional farming techniques, and strict conservation policies co-exist in a fragile balance.

进岛方向 / Into the Island / À travers l’île (CCA, 2024, 41 min) follows Tiantian in her discovery of the essential elements, pressure points, and issues related to the destabilizing terrain of the ocean and its delicate ecosystem. Directed by Joshua Frank, this film is a snapshot of a fluid design process, a story of encounters, and a narrative composed through the fragments of an evolving culture and fluctuating landscape.

进岛方向 / Into the Island / À travers l’île will be screened as part of the twelfth season of the international open-air architecture film festival Architektur.Film.Sommer at Architekturzentrum Wien, alongside Always Blue (Käthe Löffelmann, 2022, 6 min) and Stories from the Sea (Jola Wieczorek, 2021, 86 min). Curated by Lene Benz and Marlene Rutzendorfer, the festival presents documentaries, short films. and experimental films on the theme of Holidays: All Inclusive?, raising questions about travel, tourism, and holidays in times of climate crisis.

Wednesday 14 August, 8:30pm
Architekturzentrum Wien, courtyard
Museumsplatz 11070 Vienna
Austria