Science on Screen in 'The Shape of Homes to Come'

While acting and directing are obvious essentials to making a great movie, architecture is also a key ingredient. The craftsmanship that goes into building a set or a soundstage (whether it’s covered in green screen or not) can stay in the minds of an audience as much as any performance or single shot. Whether it’s the towering structures in Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent futuristic film “Metropolis” or the bright playground of last year’s “Barbie” by Greta Gerwig, architecture in film is as impactful as it is in the real world. This weekend, the Sag Harbor Cinema illustrates that fact with a program illustrating how architecture can shape the future, both inside and outside the movies.

The Hamptons staple is hosting “The Shape of Homes to Come,” a special screening event on Sunday, December 15, at 4 p.m. The event will feature architect Raffaella Bortoluzzi, founder of Raffaella Bortoluzzi Architecture, and journalist Filippo Brunamonti discussing the former’s project involving 3D printing to build housing for underprivileged communities and a short film he executive produced focusing on the project. After that, attendees will get to watch the 1936 H.G. Wells adaptation “Things to Come” and see how hopes for the future were seen through architecture decades ago.

“Two of my favorite films this year, ‘Megalopolis’ and ‘The Brutalist,’ tell the story of intrepid architects whose art — through the use of space, materials, light and the landscape — envisions a better world,” explained Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, the cinema’s artistic director, in a release. “It made me think of how much utopia is a fitting cinematic subject. Film has dreamed the future so many times.”

Speaking over the phone last week, Vallan went on to explain that “The Shape of Homes to Come” is actually SHC’s first time hosting a “Science on Screen” event. Originally started by the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Massachusetts, the series features a variety of beloved hits, cult films and documentaries that highlight major advancements in science, technology, and medicine. Screenings are often preceded by talks with experts on subjects related to the films. For instance, Coolidge recently hosted a screening of 1997’s “Gattaca” with an introduction from Immaculata De Vivo, molecular epidemiologist and professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Vallan said that the cinema received a grant from Coolidge to organize three film screenings that would pair well with scientific topics.

“The cinema is meant to enjoy film, but also use film to start a conversation,” Vallan said. “When I was watching ‘Megalopolis,’ it made me think about utopia and architects and how the movie has this architect invent this strange material that would make cities where people use them in a more egalitarian and healthier way.

“One of the things that cinema has is a good language for strange worlds and utopias, so I thought it would be an interesting topic,” she added.

The film “Things to Come” is based on the 1933 novel “The Shape of Things to Come” by H.G. Wells, the famed author behind “The War of the Worlds” and “The Time Machine.” The film takes place during Christmas 1940 and Everytown resident John Cabal (Raymond Massey) fears that war is imminent. When war does break out, its lasts 30 years, destroying the city and ushering in a new dark age of plagues and petty despots. But there is hope in the form of Wings Over the World, a group of pacifist scientists and thinkers led by Cabal. Their dream is to build a Utopian society on the ruins of the old. But first they’ll have to unseat the latest ruling tyrant (Ralph Richardson).

A year after the novel was published, Wells met with Alexander Korda (“The Third Man”) and agreed to let the British producer make a film version of his book at Korda’s newly-constructed studio in Denham, England. Korda recruited William Cameron Menzies to direct after winning two Academy Awards for art direction.

Vallan said she first saw “Things to Come” at the University of Turin in Italy and, despite the film being decades old, found that it had elements that lasted in her memory for a long while.

“It sticks with you,” she added. “It has this very ominous dialogue, which is kind-of awkward like a lot of sci-fi, but the visuals when they create a new world are stunning. It’s one of the most ambitious productions that London Films did. There is enormous care right from the opening. And this was 1936, you didn’t see much sci-fi of that level of complexity at that time.”

As for the screening event at SHC, Vallan said she first pitched the idea to Bortoluzzi and Brunamonti back in late September after seeing a video about the architect’s grand plan. That project is part of Initiative 99, a global competition featuring architects from 60 countries designing new affordable housing projects in El Paso, Texas. Bortoluzzi plans involve developing 3D-printed concrete volumes that are topped with a roof doubling as a canopy. Her design also features a water-harvesting system, garden space and integrated planting pockets for self-sustaining food growth.

Vallan noted how vital architecture in production design has been to cinema over the years. She gave high praise to the works of David L. Snyder in the classic “Blade Runner,” while also being impressed by the team behind this year’s “Wicked.” Regardless of the era it was in, Vallan finds that the right architecture in movies can “invent entire worlds” for an audience.

Sag Harbor Cinema itself is a prized example of architecture. The building at 90 Main Street has been a staple of the Hamptons since its John Eberson-designed facade was unveiled in the 1930s. That was put in jeopardy on December 16, 2016, when a massive fire partially destroyed the cinema and other adjacent buildings on Main Street. Thanks to volunteer efforts by the Sag Harbor Partnership and the help of NK Architects and ConRac Construction Co., the cinema was rebuilt, updated to be three stories instead of two, and reopened in June 2021.

“The façade and sign are very iconic,” Vallan said. “It has a character to it. We’re also very lucky to be in the heart of the village right on Main Street because there’s an interaction with what happens in the street that’s very natural.”

Vallan says there will be two more “Science on Screen” events at Sag Harbor Cinema in 2025, along with other exciting programs that use film to spark more unique conversations. When talking about “Megalopolis” and “The Brutalist,” it was impossible not to ask Vallan to name the best movie she’s seen so far this year. Her answer?

“That’s the most unfair question,” she said with a laugh. “I like to think the cinema is generous. It’s not all about what I like and what I don’t like. In my history as a curator, I think I’ve learned that generosity is a plus. To be able to share a really wide range of films with our audience and pique their curiosity and have them stray from the beaten path is very important.”

Tickets for “The Shape of Homes to Come” on Sunday, December 15, at 4 p.m. are available at sagharborcinema.org or the box office. Sag Harbor Cinema is at 90 Main Street in Sag Harbor.