2017
61. From LA 2017: Photos, Films, Architecture, Trumpism, +… – Blog only. – December 31, 2017.
Selected photos we shot, films we saw and produced, architecture we recorded or selected, some thought on Trumpism, and a few relevant books I read.
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/from-la-2017-photos-films-architecture-trumpism/
- Hanukkah’s First Candle – December 18, 2017 / (40:32)
The lighting of Hanukkah’s fifth candle in a Greater Los Angeles home was not only the place for the gathering of people from many backgrounds and areas of the city, but also for the screening of “Never Again is Now,” a new documentary telling a unique story of survival in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation, and sending a message about the danger of raising antisemitism in Europe and elsewhere, including the United States.
- Mormon Temple Visit – December 7, 2017 / (1:51)
Our first visit to the Mormon Temple in Westwood. The occasion was the premiere screening of a documentary from Azerbaijan, Under One Sun, stressing the country’s multi-culturalism. We learn many things, both about the Temple and about the multy- faceted country.
- Radio Day Unabridged – November 23, 2017 / (26:11)
- Radio Day – November 21, 2017 / (16:43)
An abridged radio interview for KBPK’s Educational Communications program, hosted by Nancy Pearlman. Mrs. Pearlman is a broadcaster, environmentalist, college instructor, anthropologist, editor, producer and outdoorswoman, who has made safeguarding the earth’s ecosystems a career. The Q & A was recorded in Idyllwild, at the “Pearlman Cabin” designed by architect John Lautner. The film was produced subsequently.
http://architectureawareness.com/radio-day/
https://archidocu.com/2017/11/21/radio-day/
https://www.culturalweekly.com/radio-day/
- Architecture + Cinema + Hollywood – October 31, 2017 / (29:52)
The work-in-progress of the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, designed by architect Renzo Piano, is scheduled for opening in 2019. In “Architecture + Cinema + Hollywood”, the three are connected through images of the museum’s construction at the present time, historic and contemporary examples of architecture, mementos from classic movies, metaphors of Hollywood, and segments from my previous films.
- The Wright Way Hint – September 28, 2017 / (2:36)
A pre-production trailer of The Wright Way feature documentary. The film is to be a cry-out to the new generation to study and use many of Frank Lloyd Wright’s principles and visionary ideas to invent a better future of livable cities and human settlements.
- Idyllwild Idyll – September 13, 2017 / (9:12)
Walking through the many trails of Idyllwild provides an excellent source of learning from nature by going back to fundamentals, delivered by boulders and trees: life and death, change, the nature of materials, gravity, light and shadow, adaptation and wise economy of form.
https://archidocu.com/2017/09/13/idyllwild-idyll/
https://www.culturalweekly.com/idyllwild-idyll/
http://architectureawareness.com/idyllwild-idyll/
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/beautifulissimo/
https://israelseen.com/2017/09/27/rick-meghiddo-beautifulissimo/
- Tangoing with Paul & Amigos – August 28, 2017 / (12:13)A personal view of artist Paul McCarthy’s exhibition at the Hauser & Wirth Gallery, in downtown LA’s Arts District. McCarthy’s large scale sculptures in wood inspired the film’s shooting and editing, and triggered associations with other like-minded artists. Tango’s are here used as a metaphor of non-linearity, Baroque fluidity, dynamism and improvisation.
https://archidocu.com/2017/08/28/tangoing-with-paul-amigos/
http://architectureawareness.com/tangoing-paul-amigos/
52. The Wright Way – An overture – June 30, 2017 / (17:21’)
Why Wright now? What can a man born 150 years ago, tell to a young generation of architects likely to be responsible for the invention of the future? This documentary is intended to emphasize the link between Wright ideas and the needs of tomorrow.
https://archidocu.com/2017/06/30/the-wright-way/
http://architectureawareness.com/wright-way-overture/
https://www.culturalweekly.com/wright-way-overture/
51. Netflix Night – June 1, 2017 / (2:55’)
Following a 14-hour non-stop day, partying was not on our minds. Nevertheless, IDA’s (International Documentary Association) “Awards Spotlight” event at Netflix, in Beverly Hills, sounded promising. We decided to stretch ourselves and go. Surprise! Besides a large public of documentarians and a panel of four accomplished directors, Netflix’s ambiance was spectacular. With my iPhone at hand, I couldn’t resist shooting an unscripted short doc.
https://archidocu.com/2017/06/01/netflix-night/
50. Tongva Park and the Angelbird – May 5, 2017 / (5:33′)
Tongva Park in Santa Monica is a unique model of sustainability and Organic Architecture, sensitive to the site’s geological and human history. It was designed by James Corner Field Operations to turn the area into “a new destination and gathering place of great social, ecological, and symbolic value.”
https://architectureawareness.com/tongva-park-and-the-angerbird
https://archidocu.com/2017/05/05/tongva-park-and-the-angelbird/
https://www.culturalweekly.com/tongva-park-angelbird/
http://architectureawareness.com/architecture-in-a-nutshell/
- Architecture in a Nutshell – April 6, 2017 / (9:20’)
This brief introduction to the meaning and value of architecture is a synopsis of the history of architecture, the main principles that guide architectural design thinking, and the process of proceeding from dreams and ideas to actual buildings. Architectural and filmmaking experience are here combined to convey a complex multiple layers of knowledge with clarity
https://archidocu.com/2017/04/06/architecture-in-a-nutshell
- Normality “Lo-Normali” – March 20, 2017 / (4:56’)
This video brings up contrasts on normal life in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It is a “NORMALITY LO-NORMALI.” It defeats prejudices and misconceptions about Israel’s reality.
http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/normality-lo-normali/
https://archidocu.com/2017/04/04/normality-lo-normali/
https://www.culturalweekly.com/normality-lo-normali/
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/normality/lo/normali
2016
- From Architecture to Urban Farming – December 26, 2016 / (13:18’)
Ruth Meghiddo presents the case of urban farming as an important movement to tackle some of the problems of the 21st century. Her personal story tells us how she evolved her practice as an architect to embrace urban farming. This documentary includes samples of existing and future urban farms, and testimonials.
http://architectureawareness.com/architecture-urban-farming/
http://www.culturalweekly.com/architecture-urban-farming/
https://archidocu.com/2016/12/28/from-architecture-to-urban-farming/
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/urban-farming-in-israel/
- The City that Never Sleeps – September 29, 2016 / (18:24’)
Tel Aviv, “The City that Never Sleeps,” is on its way to become one of the world’s great metropolitan areas. The documentary focuses on both people and spaces for people. A sense of informal freedom takes the viewer through many aspects of its reality, in plain contrast with the one commonly delivered by the media.
https://archidocu.com/2016/09/29/the-city-that-never-sleeps/
https://www.systemichabitats.eu/systemic-habitats-expo/by-rick-meghiddo/
- Jerusalem Journal – August 30, 2016 (28:36’)
Jerusalem Journal attempts to capture meaningful aspects of the world’s most complex city. During three non-consecutive days I walked miles through some of its sections, old and new. The light rail traveling provided me with an opportunity to encounter people of all walks of lives, faiths and nationalities. In Jerusalem discovery, within and without, is a non-ending process.
https://vimeo.com/180628554
http://architectureawareness.com/jerusalem-journal/
http://www.culturalweekly.com/jerusalem-journal
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-report/
http://israelseen.com/2016/09/13/rick-meghiddo-jerusalem-journal/
- Cabri – August 16, 2016 (5:58’)
Cabri is a kibbutz in Western Galilee. It includes the Gottesman Etching Center and an art gallery. For many years it was the residence place of sculptor Yechiel Shemi, Israel Prize winner and the first Israeli artist from whom New York’s Museum of Modern Art acquired work. The video shows an opening dedicated to artist Tobi Harel and to poet Ronny Someck, yet its message goes beyond that. It shows that contemporary art production can grow not only in an urban environment, but it can flourish in the country as well.
https://vimeo.com/179040810
http://architectureawareness.com/cabri-art-country
- Morning Walk – July 20, 2016 (5:26’)
“Morning Walk” is a reflection of both my feelings as a former resident of Ramat Aviv (1992 – 2002), which also includes the Tel Aviv University, and as a daily walker at the present time. My observations through the lens of a camera try to capture some of the elements that show normality within abnormality.
http://architectureawareness.com/morning-walk/
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/morning-walk-normality-within-abnormality/
http://www.culturalweekly.com/morning-walk-normality-within-abnormality/
- White Night – July 2, 2016 (3:46’)
Tel Aviv, “the city that never sleeps,” becomes once a year, during White Night, a place where nobody seems to sleep at all: youngsters, adults and children flow into tens of events throughout its annual “White Night.” Cities are not just the accumulation of buildings, streets and open spaces. They are the focal point of culture. For those intoxicated with negative news from the Middle East, this video may offer another viewpoint.
http://architectureawareness.com/white-night/
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/white-nights-message/
http://www.culturalweekly.com/white-night/
- Pride or Revolt? – June 5, 2016 (5:27’)
Tel Aviv’s 18th annual Pride Parade joins similar manifestations around the world to assert tolerance and equal rights for all, except that…this event, under the particular situation of the Middle East, and given Israel’s political map, is not just about personal liberty. It is about freedom from coercion of any kind. What I see in “The State of Tel Aviv” are symptoms of a revolt against all establishments. This is likely to have major political implications for the future of the country and of the region and, possibly, a re-evaluation of architecture and urban design.
http://architectureawareness.com/pride-or-revolt/
http://www.culturalweekly.com/pride-revolt/
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/tel-aviv-pride-parade-or-social-revolt/
- Tel Aviv Museum of Art – May 4, 2016 (7:04’)
The new wing of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, designed by architect Preston Scott Cohen as an addition to the museum’s Main Building, is the latest development in a process that started in the 1930s.
http://www.culturalweekly.com/seen-2016-tel-aviv-museum-art/
- What I See From Here – April 25, 2016 (13:41’)
An open-ended three-week visual diary of my come back to Israel, after a fifteen-year absence. The territory covered in the timeline is very small: fractions of Tel Aviv and includes a two-day visit to the Technion in Haifa. The filmic choices are twofold: people and spaces for people. A first impression from a complex country.
http://architectureawareness.com/what-i-see-from-here/
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-i-see-from-here/
http://israelseen.com/2016/04/26/rick-meghiddo-what-i-see-from-here/
- Lia – A Life Journey from Bucharest to Beverly Hills – March 21, 2016 (33:27’)
At ninety, Lia Zisman’s brings up stories from WW II and its aftermath as a token sample of a full life. With eloquence and clarity, Lia takes us from Bucharest to pre-independence Israel, to post-war Paris, to Quito, to Lima, to La Chaux-de-Fonds, to Beverly Hills. Her vitality and positive spirit is inspiring.
- The Broad: Art and People under a Veil – February 18, 2016 (8:33’)
The Broad was inaugurated in September 2015. It is a social experience. People discovering art, discovering other people. Moving around in all directions looking at art, shooting selfies with artworks as their background. There is no linear itinerary, no sequence to follow. The spiritual aspect of the Broad’s rational architecture is in the way it frames the spectator’s dialogue with the artists’ demons under a bath of light.
http://architectureawareness.com/the-broad-art-and-people-under-a-veil/