On the occasion of Milan Design Week, Francesca Molteni with Muse Factory of Projects in collaboration with Fondazione Sozzani, presents RACCONTI DI DESIGN E CITTÀ. Film screenings + talks — a program of documentary films and talks exploring contemporary projects and visions. These include portraits of designers and architects, masters of Italian design, radical movements, design methodologies, and stories of new neighborhoods and cities in transformation.
The project highlights the cultural and social dimension of architecture and design, addressing not only professionals but also a broad and international audience eager to discover the world of creativity and its protagonists, told through the language of cinema, during the week in which Milan reaffirms itself as the capital of design.
The program features six documentary films, ranging from masters of Italian design who shaped its history — such as Alessandro Mendini, Gio Ponti, and the figures of Italian Radical Design — to contemporary agents of change, including Elisabetta Trezzani/Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Cino Zucchi/CZA, and Humberto Campana/Estúdio Campana.
The screenings are preceded by talks with architects, designers, curators, and key figures featured in the films.
A project curated by Francesca Molteni with Muse Factory of Projects, in collaboration with Fondazione Sozzani.
Special thanks to Nicola Paccagnella / Arte Applicata.
Tuesday April 21st Inside Renzo Piano Building Workshop
directed by Claudia Adragna and Davide Fois, duration 52’
the documentary portrays the working method of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop: meetings, phone calls, project reviews, unexpected challenges, and construction-site difficulties — the place where the miracle of creation unfolds, from initial sketches to the final building. Behind it all is Renzo Piano, with two of his greatest qualities: being a mentor while maintaining critical distance from a project, and the ability to visualize problems and find the most effective solutions.
talk + screening | 6:30PM
with Elisabetta Trezzani, partner and director of RPBW
and Fulvio Irace, Professor Emeritus of Architectural History
Wednesday April 22nd Nuvola. An open project to the city
directed by Luca Caon, duration 52’
Nuvola is the core of a major urban regeneration and transformation project that, starting from Lavazza’s headquarters in Turin, involves the Aurora district in dialogue with the city and its inhabitants. The film shows how architecture has come to life, transforming an abandoned site into an open, multifaceted space oriented toward the future.
talk + screening | 11:30AM – Milan Premiere*
with Cino Zucchi, architect at CZA
and Marco Amato, Director of Lavazza Museum Designed by Cino Zucchi
*After its premiere at the Artecinema Festival in Naples and screenings in Toronto, Istanbul, Zagreb, London, Turin, Rome, Seoul, Winnipeg, and New Zealand, it finally arrives in Milan.
screening | 3:30PM – 6:30PM
Thursday April 23rd
We The Others. Forty Years of Collaboration in Design: The Life and Work of the Campana Brothers
by Maria Cristina Didero and Francesca Molteni, directed by Francesca Molteni, duration 55’
The film explores the life and work of Brazilian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of their studio. From cactus-shaped toys made as children to their latest project in their hometown of Brotas — a park where twelve “green pavilions” are under construction — the documentary offers, through a series of interviews and Humberto’s voice and presence, a portrait of the extraordinary lives of these two artists.
talk + screening | 11:30AM
with Humberto Campana, architect at Estúdio Campana
screening | 3:30PM – 6:30PM
Friday April 24th Loving Gio Ponti directed by Francesca Molteni, duration 35’
The first documentary dedicated to the great master, featuring testimonies from his heirs and interviews with contemporary protagonists. A portrait of the man and the architect — an aspiring painter and a pioneer of Italian design — who, over more than fifty years of activity, experimented tirelessly with everything, from the smallest object to large-scale urban planning, from designing a handle to conceiving a masterplan.
I Wanted to Be Walt Disney. Alessandro Mendini directed by Francesca Molteni, duration 31′
He wanted to be Walt Disney — and became Alessandro Mendini. The creator of a parallel universe, ironic and tragic, deeply personal yet capable of speaking to the world in every language: architecture, art, design, writing, and criticism. A key figure of the 20th and 21st centuries, who
in the film recounts a dream turned into reality, much like Walt Disney. A journey enriched by encounters with figures such as Alberto Alessi, Emilio Ambasz, François Burkhardt, Germano Celant, Anna Gili, and Joseph Grima, alongside obsessions and utopias, such as the pursuit of the perfect design object.
talk + screening | 11:30AM
with Salvatore Licitra, Gio Ponti Archives
Paolo Rosselli, photographer
Elisa and Fulvia Mendini, Alessandro Mendini Archive
screening | 3:30PM – 6:30PM
Saturday April 25th SuperDesign. Italian Radical Design 1965–75
by Maria Cristina Didero and Francesca Molteni, directed by Francesca Molteni, duration 55’
“SuperDesign” is a film about 19 protagonists of the Italian Radical Design Movement who, through their own words, retrace its history and legacy: Emilio Ambasz, Franco Audrito, Dario Bartolini, Lapo Binazzi, Andrea Branzi, Germano Celant, Gilberto Coretti, Pietro Derossi, Piero Gilardi, Ugo La Pietra, Roberta Meloni, Alessandro Mendini, Adolfo Natalini, Gaetano Pesce, Gianni Pettena, Franco Raggi, Charlie Stendig, Cristiano Toraldo di Francia, Jim Walrod.
What remains today? What is the legacy of the Radical Movement in a historical moment where the speed of cultural change has produced not only widespread conformity but also a loss of values?
talk + screening | 11:30AM
with Francesca Balena Arista, design critic
Elisabetta Trincherini, Head of Poltronova Archive
Maria Cristina Didero, independent curator
On the occasion of Milan Design Week, Francesca Molteni with Muse Factory of Projects in collaboration with Fondazione Sozzani, presents RACCONTI DI DESIGN E CITTÀ. Film screenings + talks — a program of documentary films and talks exploring contemporary projects and visions. These include portraits of designers and architects, masters of Italian design, radical movements, design methodologies, and stories of new neighborhoods and cities in transformation.
The project highlights the cultural and social dimension of architecture and design, addressing not only professionals but also a broad and international audience eager to discover the world of creativity and its protagonists, told through the language of cinema, during the week in which Milan reaffirms itself as the capital of design.
The program features six documentary films, ranging from masters of Italian design who shaped its history — such as Alessandro Mendini, Gio Ponti, and the figures of Italian Radical Design — to contemporary agents of change, including Elisabetta Trezzani/Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Cino Zucchi/CZA, and Humberto Campana/Estúdio Campana.
The screenings are preceded by talks with architects, designers, curators, and key figures featured in the films.
A project curated by Francesca Molteni with Muse Factory of Projects, in collaboration with Fondazione Sozzani.
Special thanks to Nicola Paccagnella / Arte Applicata.
Tuesday April 21st
Inside Renzo Piano Building Workshop
directed by Claudia Adragna and Davide Fois, duration 52’
the documentary portrays the working method of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop: meetings, phone calls, project reviews, unexpected challenges, and construction-site difficulties — the place where the miracle of creation unfolds, from initial sketches to the final building. Behind it all is Renzo Piano, with two of his greatest qualities: being a mentor while maintaining critical distance from a project, and the ability to visualize problems and find the most effective solutions.
talk + screening | 6:30PM
with Elisabetta Trezzani, partner and director of RPBW
and Fulvio Irace, Professor Emeritus of Architectural History
Wednesday April 22nd
Nuvola. An open project to the city
directed by Luca Caon, duration 52’
Nuvola is the core of a major urban regeneration and transformation project that, starting from Lavazza’s headquarters in Turin, involves the Aurora district in dialogue with the city and its inhabitants. The film shows how architecture has come to life, transforming an abandoned site into an open, multifaceted space oriented toward the future.
talk + screening | 11:30AM – Milan Premiere*
with Cino Zucchi, architect at CZA
and Marco Amato, Director of Lavazza Museum Designed by Cino Zucchi
*After its premiere at the Artecinema Festival in Naples and screenings in Toronto, Istanbul, Zagreb, London, Turin, Rome, Seoul, Winnipeg, and New Zealand, it finally arrives in Milan.
screening | 3:30PM – 6:30PM
Thursday April 23rd
We The Others. Forty Years of Collaboration in Design: The Life and Work of the Campana Brothers
by Maria Cristina Didero and Francesca Molteni, directed by Francesca Molteni, duration 55’
The film explores the life and work of Brazilian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of their studio. From cactus-shaped toys made as children to their latest project in their hometown of Brotas — a park where twelve “green pavilions” are under construction — the documentary offers, through a series of interviews and Humberto’s voice and presence, a portrait of the extraordinary lives of these two artists.
talk + screening | 11:30AM
with Humberto Campana, architect at Estúdio Campana
screening | 3:30PM – 6:30PM
Friday April 24th
Loving Gio Ponti
directed by Francesca Molteni, duration 35’
The first documentary dedicated to the great master, featuring testimonies from his heirs and interviews with contemporary protagonists. A portrait of the man and the architect — an aspiring painter and a pioneer of Italian design — who, over more than fifty years of activity, experimented tirelessly with everything, from the smallest object to large-scale urban planning, from designing a handle to conceiving a masterplan.
I Wanted to Be Walt Disney. Alessandro Mendini
directed by Francesca Molteni, duration 31′
He wanted to be Walt Disney — and became Alessandro Mendini. The creator of a parallel universe, ironic and tragic, deeply personal yet capable of speaking to the world in every language: architecture, art, design, writing, and criticism. A key figure of the 20th and 21st centuries, who
in the film recounts a dream turned into reality, much like Walt Disney. A journey enriched by encounters with figures such as Alberto Alessi, Emilio Ambasz, François Burkhardt, Germano Celant, Anna Gili, and Joseph Grima, alongside obsessions and utopias, such as the pursuit of the perfect design object.
talk + screening | 11:30AM
with Salvatore Licitra, Gio Ponti Archives
Paolo Rosselli, photographer
Elisa and Fulvia Mendini, Alessandro Mendini Archive
screening | 3:30PM – 6:30PM
Saturday April 25th
SuperDesign. Italian Radical Design 1965–75
by Maria Cristina Didero and Francesca Molteni, directed by Francesca Molteni, duration 55’
“SuperDesign” is a film about 19 protagonists of the Italian Radical Design Movement who, through their own words, retrace its history and legacy: Emilio Ambasz, Franco Audrito, Dario Bartolini, Lapo Binazzi, Andrea Branzi, Germano Celant, Gilberto Coretti, Pietro Derossi, Piero Gilardi, Ugo La Pietra, Roberta Meloni, Alessandro Mendini, Adolfo Natalini, Gaetano Pesce, Gianni Pettena, Franco Raggi, Charlie Stendig, Cristiano Toraldo di Francia, Jim Walrod.
What remains today? What is the legacy of the Radical Movement in a historical moment where the speed of cultural change has produced not only widespread conformity but also a loss of values?
talk + screening | 11:30AM
with Francesca Balena Arista, design critic
Elisabetta Trincherini, Head of Poltronova Archive
Maria Cristina Didero, independent curator
screening | 3:30PM – 6:30PM