Ila Bêka is a contemporary Italian artist, filmmaker and architectural producer based in Paris. He is best known as half of the architectural filmmaking duo Bêka & Lemoine, formed with French filmmaker Louise Lemoine.
Their works focuses on the intersection of human relationship and contemporary design. They emphasize the presence of everyday life within some of the most iconic architectural projects of recent decades. In 2016, the MoMA, Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired their complete body of work- comprising 16 films- for its permanent collection. The acquisition of a complete work by MoMA, Museum of Modern Art is considered as an extremely rare event for a living artist.
Life and career Bêka trained as an architect at the Università Iuav di Venezia in Venice and the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris-Belleville, where he studied under figures sucj as Aldo Rossi, Manfredo Tafuri, Vittorio Gregotti, Massimo Cacciari, Bernardo Secchi, Gino Valle, Ugo La Pietra, Henri Ciriani and Jacques Lucan.
In 2005, Bêka partnered with Louise Lemoine with whom he founded the research and production platform Bêka & Lemoine. Described by The New York Times as "cult figures in the European architecture world",Nicolai Ouroussoff. "Inhabiting a Piece of Art: It’s Not Always So Pretty", The New York Times, 29 January 2010. Bêka and Lemoine focus their work on experimental new narrative and cinematographic forms in relation to contemporary architecture. Their collaborative debut, Koolhaas Houselife(2008), has been acclaimed by the international critique as "The architectural cult movie".Elsa Fernàndez-Santos. "La casa de Guadalupe", El País, 13 April 2009.
Ila Bêka has exhibited and delivered lectures at cultural institutions such as Venice Biennale (2008, 2010, 2014), MoMA (New-York), Metropolitan Museum of ArtIn Our Time: A Year of Architecture in a Day. MetMuseum.org (New-York), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Barbican Art Gallery (London), Canadian Centre for Architecture (Montréal), NAi (Rotterdam, NL), MAXXI (Rome), SALT (Istanbul), Harvard GSD, Architectural Association School of Architecture (London), Mextropoli (Mexico).
According to ArchDaily, one of the most visited architecture websites worldwide, their films "alter the face of architectural criticism".
Ila Bêka is currently teaching Diploma 16 at AA School, Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.
Filmography
2000: Millimetraggi (168 x 3min) - Short Film - Best Film at Festival du Film Très Court de Paris 2001: Colomba (2min) - Short Film - Best Film at Venice International Short Film Festival in Venice 2001: In Utero (11min) - Short Film - Official Selection at International Critic's Week at Cannes Film Festival 2002: L'uomo dei numeri (5,30min) - Documentary 2003: I have seen my mother dancing in the clouds (6min) - Short Film - Best International Short Film at 21 Torino Film Festival 2004: Salome & the seven heads (6min) - Video Installation 2004: Trilogy: Buongiorno (5min), Buonasera (5min), Buonanotte (5min) - 3 Short Films - Special Mention at Nastri d'Argento, Italy. 2005: Quodlibet (84min) - Feature Film - Official Selection at 58th Locarno International Film Festival 2005: "A Balare", a trilogy: "Frassinetti (62min), Pilastro (61min), Italicus (60min) - Documentaries 2006: Passero sublime (9min) - Video installation 2006: Mind scraping (5min) - Video installation, Contagion (5min) - Video installation, Reminiscenza onirica (5min) - Video installation 2006: Ventre (5min) - Video installation - Best Film at Festival Internazionale Cinema d'Arte di Milano 2007: Monsieur et Madame Pelletret (2 x 6min) - Video installation 2007: Testamento della Memoria (38min) - Documentary 2008: Koolhaas Houselife (58min) - Documentary - Official Selection at 8th Venice Biennale of Architecture 2010: Sound of Space (6min) - Video installation 2010: "Inside Piano": The Submarine (39min), "The little Beaubourg (26min), "The power of silence (34min) - 3 Documentaries 2012: Natural Histories (11min) - Video installation 2013: Pomerol, Herzog & de Meuron (51min) - Documentary 2013: Xmas Meier (51min) - Documentary 2013: Gehry's Vertigo, (48min) - Documentary - Official Selection at 10th Venice Biennale of Architecture (extract) 2013: Living Architectures Zip (60min) - Documentary - Best Film at ArchFilmLund Festival, Sweden 2013: 25bis (46min) - Documentary 2014: La Maddalena (12min) - Video installation - Official Selection at 14th Venice Biennale of Architecture 2014: La Maddalena Chair (25min) - Video installation - Official Selection at 14th Venice Biennale of Architecture 2014: Alfred, une nuit vénitienne (70min) - Documentary 2014: 24 heures sur place (90min) - Documentary - Special Jury Prize at 32nd Torino Film Festival 2014: L'expérience du vide (45min) - Documentary 2014: Barbicania (90min) - Documentary - Art project commissioned by Barbican Centre 2015: The Infinite Happiness (85min) - Documentary 2015: Spiriti (15x3min circa)- Video installation- Art project commissioned by Fondazione Prada, Milano 2016: Voyage autour de la Lune (75min) - Documentary 2016: Selling Dreams (25min + 12min) - Video installation - Official Selection Oslo Triennale 2017: Moriyama-San (63min) - Documentary - Best Prize at Architecture Film Festival London 2019: Butohouse (34min) - Documentary - International Premiere at DocAviv Film Festival 2017-2020: Homo Urbanus (10 x 55min) - Video installation - Official Selection Seoul Biennale and Agora Biennale in Bordeaux 2020: Tokyo Ride (90min) - Documentary - Artistic Vision Award, Depth of Field Competition - Best Prize - Docaviv Film Festival, 2020 2021: Oslavia, The Cave of the Past Future (17min) - Video installation - World premiere at MAXXI Museum in Rome 2022: Big Ears Listen with Feet (93min) - Special Mention, Milano Design Film Festival, MDFF 2022, Milan 2023: Rehab from Rehab (86min) - In competition at Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, Prague 2024: The Sense of Tuning (96min) - International Premiere at Fondation Cartier in Paris
Teaching In 2019-2022 he taught the Diploma Unit "Homo Urbanus, Laboratory for Sensitive Observers" at AA School, Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. In 2019-2021 he taught the course "Filming Architecture" at the AAM, the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, in Switzerland. In 2021 he taught The Berlage Theory Master Class "A Journey Round My Room" at The Berlage Center for Advanced Studies in Architecture and Urban Design, in Delft. In 2020 he taught the course "MAXXI Architecture Film Summer School" at MAXXI The National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome, IT. In 2019-2020 he taught the course "Voyage autour de ma chambre" at HEAD, Haute École d'art et de design de Genève. In 2017 he taught the course "The Emotion of Space" at Domaine de Boisbuchet in Lessac, France. In 2016 and 2015 he taught the course "Filming Architecture" with Marco Müller and Louise Lemoine at the AAM, the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, in Switzerland. In 2014 and 2013 he taught the course "Cinema & Architecture" at GSAPP Columbia University for the New York/Paris program.
Recognition Ila Bêka: Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, French Ministry of Culture, 2026 MoMA, Museum of Modern Art in New York: The complete work (16 films) of Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine has been acquired for the permanent collection. CNAP, Centre National des Arts Plastiques: "Koolhaas Houselife" and "La Maddalena" have been acquired for the permanent collection. FRAC Centre, Orléans: "Butohouse", "Moriyama-San", "The Infinite Happiness", "Selling Dreams", "Gehry's Vertigo" have been acquired for the permanent collection. Awarded by Metropolis (architecture magazine) as Game Changer 2015.Véronique Vienne. "Game Changers 2015: Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine" , Metropolis (architecture magazine), January 2015. Artist in residence at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto, Japan, 2018. Rome Prize Italian Fellow at American Academy in Rome, Italy, 2018. Selected by Icon Design as one of the 100 most talented personalities in the world in 2017. Presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art as one of the “Most exciting and critical design project of the year 2016”. Prix d'Honneur FILAF 2020, Festival International du Livre d’Art et du Film, Perpignan, 2020.
Awards Prix d'Honneur - FILAF / Festival International du Livre d'Art et du Film, Perpignan, 2020: Bêka & Lemoine Best Film at MDFF, Milano Design Film Festival 2020: "Tokyo Ride" Artistic Vision Award at Docaviv Film Festival 2020: "Tokyo Ride" Best Film at Architecture Film Festival London 2019: "Moriyama-San" Best Film at Arquiteturas Film Festival Lisboa 2019: "Moriyama-San" Best Prize, Arqfilmfest, Santiago, Chile, 2018: "Moriyama-San" Best Prize, FILAF D’OR, Festival International du Livre d’Art et du Film, Perpignan, 2018: "Moriyama-San" Best Prize, FIFAAC, Bègles, France 2018: "Moriyama-San" Special Jury Prize at 32nd Torino Film Festival, Torino, Italy, 2014: "24 Heures sur Place" Best Architecture Documentaries for the film collection "Living Architectures" by the festival ArchFilmLund, 2013 Best International Short Film at 21 Torino Film Festival for "I have seen my mother dancing in the clouds" Best Film at Festival du Film Très Court de Paris: "Millimetraggi" Best Film at Venice International Short Film Festival in Venice: "Colomba" Best Film at Jameson Award for "In Utero" Best Film at Premio Troisi festival for "Millimetraggi" Best Film at Festival Internazionale Cinema d'Arte di Milano: "Ventre" Best Film at Premio Troisi festival for "Buongiorno" Best Film at Maremetraggio Festival for "Millimetraggi" Best Film at Interfilm Berlin Film Festival Festival for "Buongiorno" Special Prize of the Jury at Festival Sobra Arte 2015 (Lisbon): "La Maddalena" Special Mention at Nastri d'Argento, Italy: "Buongiorno"
Published Dvd-Books Beka & Lemoine, 2016, DVD-Box Set Volume 1 & 2. 0701197948082 The Infinite Happiness, 2016, DVD. 0701197948105 Koolhaas Houselife, 2016, DVD. 0701197948112 Koolhaas Houselife, 2008, . Koolhaas Houselife,ArchDaily. "Living Architectures: Koolhaas Houselife / Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine", ArchDaily, 28 May 2013. 2013, . Pomerol, Herzog & de Meuron,ArchDaily. "Living Architectures: Pomerol, Herzog & de Meuron / Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine", ArchDaily, 29 May 2013. 2013, . Xmas Meier,ArchDaily. "Living Architectures: Xmas Meir / Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine", ArchDaily, 31 May 2013. 2013, . Gehry's Vertigo,ArchDaily. "Living Architectures: Gehry’s Vertigo / Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine", ArchDaily, 1 June 2013. 2013, . Inside Piano,ArchDaily. "Living Architectures: Inside Piano / Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine", ArchDaily, 2 June 2013. 2013, . Living Architectures, 2013, .
References
General References
Ada Luise Huxtable, « Ingenious and Demanding », The Wall Street Journal, 2009-09-30 Christopher Hawthorne, « Tuesday at the Hammer: 'Koolhaas Houselife' », Los Angeles Times, 2010-08-03 Oliver Wainwright, Oslo architecture triennale: Airbnb cosplay for the gig economy nomad, The Guardian, 2016-09-12. Frédérique Hedelmann, « Guadalupe et l'architecte », Le Monde, 2008-09-22 Jean-Jacques Larrochelle, « Sacrées architectures », Le Monde, 2013-04-16 Patricia Zohn, « Culture Zohn: Life in the Koolhaas », The Huffington Post, 2010-07-30 . Patricia Zohn, « Culture Zohn: the 2014 Venice Biennale, parte due », Huffington Post, 2014-10-06 Rowan Moore, « 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale review: put yourself in their space… », The Guardian, 2014-06-08 . Oliver Wainwright, "Cathedrals of Culture", The Guardian, 2014-09-25. Susanne Kippenberger, "Raumpatrouille", Der Tagesspiegel, 2015-10-22. Elena Sommariva, "Voyage autour de la Lune", Domus, 2016-01-29 Karsten R.S. Ifversen, "8Tallet", Politiken, 2015-11-13