Architecture & Design Film Festival Returns to Mumbai in January 2026
The Architecture & Design Film Festival opens its second Mumbai edition on January 9, 2026.
The program runs through January 11.
It features films that treat architecture as social practice, not just form.
Cinema as Analytical Tool
The festival launched in New York in 2009.
Its 2025 Mumbai debut drew strong local engagement.
This year’s selection focuses on South Asia’s urban transformations.
Films examine informal settlements, heritage reuse, and public space politics.
Several works link cinematic framing to choices in building materials like concrete, steel, and reclaimed timber.
The camera does not document space it reveals who controls it.
Critical Programming Over Spectacle
Organizers prioritize discourse over display.
Panels address high-density interior design and ethical storytelling.
The lineup includes shortlisted entries from a global design competition on adaptive reuse.
The Architecture & Design Film Festival functions as a forum not a showcase for spatial critique.
Archival Intent and Platform Integration
The event avoids corporate branding or named sponsors.
It adheres strictly to a documentary approach.
All screenings join ArchUp’s permanent archive.
This ensures long-term access for researchers and practitioners.
Programming connects to urgent debates in global cities about equity, memory, and climate resilience.
Technical sessions reference real-world construction methods, including seismic detailing and modular systems.
They frame sustainability as both technical strategy and narrative lens.
As part of ArchUp’s curated events calendar, the festival centers inquiry not promotion.
Architecture filmed without context becomes decoration.
The Architecture & Design Film Festival uses film to interrogate how power, material, and memory shape the built environment.
Architectural Snapshot
Film does not illustrate architecture it questions who it serves and how.
✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight
Patterns of urban negotiation shape the Mumbai edition of the Architecture & Design Film Festival.
Human behavior in dense cities affects materials and spaces.
Examples: growth of informal settlements, resource reuse, and competition over public spaces.
Institutional decisions determine how buildings are represented and reused.
Examples: zoning laws, heritage policies, and ethical oversight in media.
Economic pressures influence architectural interventions.
Examples: cost reduction in adaptive reuse and prioritization of low-risk materials.
Cultural priorities decide which spaces are documented and celebrated.
Includes memory, equity, and community visibility.
Technical tools translate these patterns into architectural outcomes.
Examples: cinematic framing, archiving, and construction methods.
Architectural form and material choice are not design preferences.
They are the result of repeated behaviors, decisions, and socio-economic and cultural pressures.
