Irish Film: Graham Foundation grants funding to documentary Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect

The Graham Foundation have today announced their annual grants to organisations, which includes Wavelength Pictures for the feature documentary Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect.

Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect is a profile of Pritzker Prize winning Irish-American architect Kevin Roche, who still works full time at the age of 93. The iconic Dublin Convention Centre is just one of his most recent building designs. Through Roche’s life and work, the documentary interrogates many of key architectural questions, such as its role in a democratic society, whom architecture is for, and the importance of community in architecture.

Roche has been responsible for the design/master planning for over 200 built projects in both the U.S. and abroad. These projects include eight museums, 38 corporate headquarters, seven research facilities, performing arts centers, theaters, and campus buildings for six universities. In 1967 he created the master plan for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and since then has designed all of the new wings and installation of many collections including the recently reopened American and Islamic wings. Among other awards, Roche received the Pritzker Prize in 1982, the Gold Medal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1990, and the AIA Gold Medal in 1993.

The documentary will be directed by up and coming Irish director Mark Noonan who, like Kevin, graduated in architecture from University College Dublin, before becoming a filmmaker. Mark’s debut feature You’re Ugly Too was recently released in Irish cinemas having received multiple awards home and abroad. Also attached to the project is cinematographer Kate McCullough who has received awards for her work at various festivals, including Sundance. Wavelength Pictures has already obtained the support of the Irish Film Board for the project and is in discussions with other potential funders. It hopes to soon complete fundraising and begin production with a view to a premiere at the end of 2016. Irish producer Mac Dara Ó Curraidhín, who has extensive experience in the documentary form with RTÉ, BBC and TG4, is also onboard.

[quote title=”John Flahive – Wavelength Pictures, Producer”]We wish to thank the Graham Foundation for their generous support and for having
faith in our project.[/quote]

Founded in 1956, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts makes project-based grants to individuals and organizations and produces public programs to foster the development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society.

For more information visit the Facebook page: Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect or www.wavelengthpictures.co.uk