On the occasion of the opening of the exhibition The Breath of the Architect by Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai, Fondation Cartier is presenting, in collaboration with CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée), the world premiere of the latest feature film by artists Bêka & Lemoine.

The Sense of Tuning is a portrait of the architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai, conceived like a sketch made on the fly, captured in the vibrancy of movement and of the moment. 

Nothing of a hagiographic portrait giving a fixed image of the man and his work, the film explores the fragile, precious material of the architect’s sensibility with rare spontaneity, shedding light on how his perception of the emotion of space is nurtured.

Conceived as a performative cinematic experience, this film captures the alchemy of a day-long encounter between Bijoy Jain and Bêka & Lemoine – twelve hours of intense wandering, plunging us into the vital energy of the streets of Mumbai. Visual notes made in the intimacy of the studio, observations of informal tactics of the city and visits to production sites, the film reveals how closely Bijoy Jain’s work is tied to the city of Mumbai, providing endless resources and inspiration. A sensory film where gesture becomes the language of intuition.

Avant-premiere: Tuesday December 12 at 7:30 p.m
at CNC, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, Paris, France.

Watch the trailer : https://youtu.be/zFihX-113n8

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Recounting her personal story as a young girl who spent her childhood in rehabilitation centres alongside her severely disabled father, Louise Lemoine confronts her traumatic memories with the exceptional experimentation developed at REHAB in Basel, a building built twenty years ago by Herzog & de Meuron.
This new film by Bêka & Lemoine proposes a sensitive and personal reflection which questions the way hospitals think spaces of care for the most vulnerable ones. Proposing highly specialized treatment for physical and neurological disabilities, this hospital has become a model of a kind thanks to its holistic approach of rehabilitation addressing with the same level of attention physical care and mental wellbeing.

Read the great review by Edwin Heathcote, the architecture and design critic for The Financial Times, in the new Royal Academy Magazine.

France/Switzerland, 2023, 4K, Color, 86 min.

Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/-bOkxykNac0
Watch an extract here: https://youtu.be/oWm1PO5iAyU

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In less than six months, Bêka & Lemoine’s new book is already at its third reprint.

The Emotional Power of Space explores the mechanisms of perception and sensoriality at play in our experience of space through the lively and intimate form of the conversation with twelve renowned architects for whom perception and sensoriality play a central role in their work. The book gathers stories of sensibility which reveal the intuitive and irrational forces at play in our relation to space.

Twelve conversations
Tatiana Bilbao, Terunobu Fujimori, Jacques Herzog, Anne Holtrop, Junya Ishigami, Bijoy Jain, Ryue Nishizawa, Juhani Pallasmaa, Boonserm Premthada, Smiljan Radić, Kazuyo Sejima, Álvaro Siza.

The book’s launching event which took place at Palazzo Grassi in Venice with Tatiana Bilbao and Jacques Herzog is available online here.

Here the list of bookshops where to get the book.

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Bêka & Lemoine take us to Bangkok on a one day hectic journey through the chaotic concrete jungle of the South-Asian megacity. Led by the moving personal story of Boonserm Premthada, one of today’s most important Thai architects, the film unfolds through a free wander, punctuated by stunning encounters, events and places, which have contributed to shape Premthada’s unique identity and sensibility.

"Bêka & Lemoine are film poets with an ease and a grasp of the craft in both film and architecture. They are never afraid of challenging the audience and therefore dare to hold a scene until illumination and poetry show up.” - Politiken

Watch "Big Ears Listen with Feet" Here!