Ada – My Mother the Architect
Director: Yael Melamede
Israel / USA | 2024 | English and Hebrew with English subtitles | 81 min
BOSTON PREMIERE
Ada Karmi Melamede is one of the most accomplished architects in the world, yet her work remains largely unrecognized beyond architectural circles. Born in 1936 in Mandatory Palestine the daughter of pioneering architect Dov Karmi, Ada grew up and into architecture. Referred to as a “sculptor of light,” Ada has accomplished beautiful buildings that also articulated, in physical form, some of Israel’s highest democratic ideals, most notably The Supreme Court of Israel in Jerusalem, Ben Gurion Airport, The Open University in Ra’anana, Reichman University in Herzliya, the Neot Hovav Museum in the Negev, and numerous civic institutions around the country.
In this luminous documentary, Oscar-and-Emmy-nominated filmmaker Yael Melamede gives us an elegant portrait of a visionary artist, and an intimate story of a mother and daughter. With a cinematic aesthetic all her own, Yael, a trained architect herself, offers a revealing look at art making and the creative process. At the same time, she widens the scope to explore the sacrifices required of a woman and mother working in a male-dominated field.
Interviewees include Ada’s former students at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, former President of the Supreme Court of Israel Aharon Barak, critic Paul Goldberger, and architects Frank Gehry and Moshe Safdie.
Winner – Best Cinematography, Jerusalem International Film Festival
“One of the best documentaries of the year… Spellbindingly eloquent, even poetic. You may never walk through a building the same way again.” –RogerEbert.com
“A spectacular film on so many levels; the storytelling, the cinematography, the editing. This is a giant of a film.” –MSNBC’s Ali Velshi
