Albania

The booming, architecturally and socially chaotic city of Tirana, Albania, as seen through the eyes of the many stray dogs who, thanks to an ear tags (they are vaccinated and sterilized) live in the streets of downtown, in harmony with the people and their surroundings.

Ukraine

Our short film investigates matters of urban spaces and their perception and critically approaches their potential for the adaptation of new residents. The particular potential of becoming a new or a second home to each individual. How easy is it to achieve this effect, and how can we measure this city's quality? Can the urban landscape define notions of home, and what properties of the city's spatial organization can create a homelike atmosphere? The notion of home is very personal to everyone, it is hard to quantify, but the concept is united by a strong shared sense of values. Home means a friendly place, a comfortable one, accessible and open. Such a perception can contribute to the natural development of both young people and adults. This story is about two friends who recently moved from their native Kyiv to Berlin and Warsaw and faced the need of adaptation to the new context, both cultural and urban. We reflected on the process of interaction with the new urban environment, up to the point where the new city and its architectural landscape started to shape the sense of a home.

Azerbaijan

Baku hosts almost 5 million citizens and there are 2 million cars on the roads. The expansion of roads and the construction of new bridges almost paralyzed traffic for the past decade and even now, after the constructions, things are not better. Mass tourist waves and the large number of people moving to Baku every year for better opportunities worsen the situation. Thus, overpopulation and bad city infrastructure leave many citizens of Baku going through a hell of traffic and congestion during rush hours. Public transport is also very packed and not so safe for many to use. The situation proves that there is a significant need for more alternative and green forms of transportation. Cycling is proven to be one of the most sustainable ways of transport and the city’s road infrastructure exclusively leaves cyclists behind. There are no bike lanes in most parts of the city, and only a few parks have them that have no point or connection points. Also, the drivers are very aggressive and impatient with the cyclists. Many drivers create very precarious situations for cyclists and the aggression is the same for those who ride motorcycles as well. Driving on big roads with no bike lane and around the sidewalks with many underground paths make things really worse for cyclists. Also, the lack of community and cycling culture kills its potential for the future. Baku needs sustainable and innovative solutions to its major urban problems and leaving the cyclists behind only challenges the situation further.

Albania

The film aims to portrait The New Bazaar: a modern public space; a lively scene with many happenings; inclusive for the people; a space that makes no seggregation between those who visit. But as you look at it, the design itself has no link with the Old Bazaar: the booming point of the whole city of Tirana, that has existed for over 300 years, and was demolished in 1959. As you walk around, the glass structure reflects the old mosque, an element that recalls the fact that before the new buildings composed this space, less than a hundred years ago, other buildings, another bazaar lived there, and they shaped the collective memory of the habitants. But there is no other sign. No translation of the history into the design itself. The film tends to implicate the fact that the new bazaar as a public space has proven to be successful in terms of inclusivity for the people. But it is just as important for the design to represent the history of the old bazaar, which people cared about and remember with nostalgia, but risks to be just a vague memory, and for which new generations 100 years from now will have no idea about.

Azerbaijan

Most streets of Baku are unsafe and hostile for women and queers due to their design and location. There is a cultural practice that women* need a company to go out in the streets in the dark or even sometimes in daylight to have more security. Unfortunately, there are many reported (and mostly unreported or uninvestigated) cases of women* facing harassment in public spaces in Baku. Most of the incidents happen in side streets with poor lighting and narrow sidewalks. Also, the local chaikhanas (where mostly cishet men come together to play board games and drink tea) cover the corners of the inner streets of suburban areas, making it very hard for women to pass by due to the risk of harassment or general discomfort of being subjected by men.

Georgia

This film is a try to show the environment, city and people from a different point of view. A view, different from the usual one and how excluding it can be if you are a bit different.