First prize for short film

The short film When I Came to Your Door, developed as part of the Addis Ababa Living Lab research project, won the first prize at the Venice Architecture Film Festival.

The movie follows a woman searching for her partner among the ruins of a neighbourhood in Addis Ababa, caught in the waves of forced evictions sweeping through the city’s informal settlements. Inspired by a love letter found on site, When I Came to Your Door captures real images from one of the most recent demolitions that displace low-income communities to make way for large-scale urban projects in a rapidly expanding city.

Directed by Antonio Paoletti and co-produced with Frederique van Andel and Marja Elsinga, the film features music by Francesco Cameli and stars Meaza Fekadu Shinato, a young Ethiopian woman from the informal settlement depicted in the film.

Learn more on the theme of the Venice Architecture Film Festival here.