The 1926 death of visionary self-taught architect Antonio Gaudí left unfinished Barcelona’s La Sagrada Família basilica, his magnificent masterwork characterized by soaring, organically inspired towers. More than one-hundred years after construction began, the ambitiously avant-garde edifice continues to inspire worldwide awe and creative controversy surrounding its completion, which, like the medieval cathedrals, may well take another century or two. Director Haupt engagingly delves into the past, present, and future of La Sagrada Família through new discoveries, anecdotal evidence in the wake of Gaudí’s missing plans (destroyed during the Spanish Civil War), and the ongoing work of architects and artisans with rival interpretations of the master’s vision. In French, Spanish, English, and Catalan with English subtitles.
“Both exhaustive and astounding in its detective-like exploration.”
— Jackson Scarlett, 7X7 San Francisco
“A sensory and philosophical experience of sublime beauty.”
— Le Nouevelliste
Chicago: Dec. 30 - Jan. 4 at Siskel Film Center.