In the midst of the crowded Valley film festival season, we have a film showcase. Not a festival, mind you; it is, after all, the work of Steve Weiss, director of the long running “No Festival Required” indie film series, so it’s definitely not a festival but a showcase. It’s the Arizona Architecture Film Showcase 2025.
The showcase consists of three documentaries, shown on April 9, 13 and 17, each about an intriguing, insufficiently known architectural story.
It kicks off on Wednesday, April 9 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) at Walter Studios, 747 W. Roosevelt, with Hollywood’s Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story. Orphaned as a small child, Williams (1894-1980) was an African American who grew up to design opulent homes for stars ranging from Frank Sinatra to Lucy and Desi, as well as the iconic façade of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Much of his work, the movie points out, was in neighborhoods or facilities in which, at the time, he would not have been allowed to live or stay.
The series continues Sunday, April 13 at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5:30 p.m.) with Beadle Architecture, a 1999 documentary about Arizona architect Al Beadle, also at Walter Studios. The director, Suzanne Johnson, as well as architect Eddie Jones and others from the film, are scheduled to appear for a Q&A after the showing.
Wrapping things up is Light Without Sun (Lys Uder Sol), on Thursday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) at The Abbey Phoenix, 302 West Monroe. It’s a dreamlike portrait of Can Lis, the house on the Spanish island of Majorca, designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon – best known for the Sydney Opera House – for his own family. This quiet, brooding film, which includes choreographic performers along with its talking heads, has a spellbinding, paradisaical atmosphere. It did for me, at least; the house and the island are strikingly similar to how I picture Heaven.
Co-director Clara Kraft Isono and Valley-based architect Wendell Burnette are slated to hold a Q&A after the film, and Coldwell Banker Historic Home Group will provide complimentary soft drinks and popcorn. It’s an outdoor screening, though the venue can provide an indoor location in the event of bad weather. No tickets at the door for this one, by the way; only online sales.
Tickets for Hollywood’s Architect and Beadle Architecture are $16 plus a service charge; tickets for Light Without Sun are $18 plus a service charge. Go to nofestivalrequired.com for details.
