The Building - A Gritty Fairytale

Join us for a screening of "The Building - a gritty fairytale." Short documentary2026, 28min, color, Englishdirected by Daria TchapanovaThe Building – A Gritty Fairytale is both an acoustic and visual journey, centred in a place of artistic production and the transformative power of a community. At the same time, then film reflects on broader global themes—mobility, artistic freedom, migration and resilience —while grounding them in a deeply local story.?The short documentary focuses on August House in Johannesburg—an industrial building transformed into one of South Africa’s foremost artist studio spaces.? Blending documentary filmmaking with an artistic cinematic approach, the film portrays the building and its inhabitants, revealing how collective artistic practices create strength, continuity, and belonging within unstable social and economic contexts. August House becomes a powerful example of the fragile balance between art, society and urban transformation. The personal stories of its inhabitants intertwine with shared experiences, forming a portrait of a vibrant creative ecosystem. Told from the first-person perspective of the director, the film places a central question at its heart: What constitutes a multidimensional artistic collaboration in art spaces??Teamproduced by Daria Tchapanova in collaboration with META Foundation?Director | Daria TchapanovaCamera & Editing | Daria TchapanovaSound Recordings | Peter Zirbs?Mix & Additinal Recordings | Peter ZirbsText | Sara Hallatt & Daria TchapanovaText Editing | Melisande SeebaldSubtitles | Sara Hallatt & Daria TchapanovaWith August House artists & facilitators Dustin August | Nicola Bouwer | Ayola Goxo | Gift Khoza | Shandré Lummis-Rabie | Bekezela Mabena | Kamogelo Masemola | Simon Mashapo Jr. | Nanini Mgandela | Khotso Motsoeneng | Alpheus Ngoepe | Sara Hallatt | David Mayers | Thembekile Mlilo | Kelvin MwaleAnd Italo Almeida | Melissa Haiden | Black Mabutho | Andile Mbeje | Koloti Moji | Maria Fidel Regueros | Mbali Tshabalala | Sky Walker |Andrew WesselsResearch context Kim Gurney | Matthew Wilhelm-SolomonThanks for the support byLower Austria Art & Culture FilmLower Austria Art & Culture Visual Arts