SCREENING
Rabot
Ongoing
Location: Bartos Screening Room
Presented by the General Delegation of the Government of Flanders to the U.S.A.
Belgium. Dir. Christina Vandekerckhove. 2017, 70 mins. Digital projection. In Dutch with English subtitles. U.S. premiere. With the eye of an artist and the preservationist instincts of a cultural anthropologist, documentarian Christina Vandekerckhove chronicles the last months of life in a dilapidated Ghent high-rise slated for demolition. A 1970s prestige project designed as a utopian solution to low cost housing, the modernist Rabot towers instead became a symbol of urban blight. Capturing intimate moments in the day-to-day lives of a host of the building’s soon-to-be-displaced residents, Vandekerckhove finds both tragedy—poverty, illness, addiction, loneliness—as well as touching scenes of warmth, humor, and humanity. The result is both a striking architectural record of urban decay and a deeply compassionate view of the humanity in its midst.
Please note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Joseph Heathcott, urban studies professor at The New School, will not be able to attend as previously noted.
Tickets: $15 ($11 seniors and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free for children under 3 and Museum members at the Film Lover and Kids Premium levels and above). Order tickets online. (Members may contact [email protected] with questions regarding online reservations.)
Ticket purchase includes same-day admission to the Museum (see gallery hours). View the Museum’s ticketing policy here. For more information on membership and to join online, visit our membership page.