My Architect

March 2, 2007
Little Theatre, National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai

Nominated for best documentary feature at the 2004 Academy Awards, ‘My Architect’ follows filmmaker, Nathaniel Kahn in his quest to find out about his father, the legendary architect, Louis Kahn. Kahn died in 1974, when Nathaniel was 11 years old, leaving behind an incredible but limited body of work, unpaid debts and three separate families all living within a few kilometres of each other. The film follows Kahn’s life through chronologically examining his buildings and interspersing their beauty with the story of a charismatic, but selfish and emotionally immature genius. As the son whom Kahn never publicly acknowledged during his lifetime, Nathaniel has delicately placed himself in the story without overpowering the main focus. Nathaniel travels the world visiting his father’s buildings and haunts in this film, meeting his father’s contemporaries, colleagues, students, wives, and children.