The Böhms - Architecture of a Family

Art/Biography, Germany/Switzerland 2016

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Gottfried Böhm (1920-2021) is considered Germany's most important architect. In 1986, he became the first German architect to be awarded what is probably the most prestigious international architecture prize: The Prizker Prize. As the son of a church builder, Gottfried Böhm is the patriarch of an architectural dynasty that now includes his sons Stephan, Peter and Paul. With outstanding large-scale buildings, they succeed in stepping out of their famous father's shadow. But not least the crisis in the construction industry in Germany fuels the competition between the brothers. At the time of filming (2014), Gottfried is 94 years old, still working daily on their planning and construction projects. When his wife Elisabeth, also an architect and a major source of inspiration for all four Böhms, dies, the family loses its emotional center. Does the fragile architecture of the family business still have a future? Over a period of two years, the young filmmaker Maurizius Staerkle Drux accompanied the work and life of the Böhms, filming both touching scenes and moments of conflict. The film draws an intimate as well as concise portrait - about the complexity and inseparability of life, love, faith and (building) art.
84 min
HD
FSK 0
Audio language:
German
Subtitles:
English

Awards

Film Festival Leipzig 2014 Documentary Film Award of the Goethe-Institut
DOK.fest Munich 2014 1st prize, Best Newcomer Material

More information

Composer:

Jonas Bühler

Editor:

Anika Simon

Original language:

German

Format:

16:9 HD, Color

Age rating:

FSK 0

Audio language:

German

Subtitles:

English