The Crows' Commons: a Documentary
Vic-Nike Mantha-Blythe
Nikola Miloradovic
I am a Serbian-Canadian architect and filmmaker. After studying architecture in Waterloo and Rome, and interning as an architect in Toronto, Vancouver, and Amsterdam, I decided to continue my studies at the Architectural Association in London. With an interest in human observation and the relationship of the body to the built environment, I joined the design unit of filmmakers Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine. Entitled “Homo Mobilis: Automobile Urbanism” my Diploma project (awarded with AA Comandation) consisted of a documentary film that studied the transformation of public space into car-dominated urbanism during the pandemic, forming a critique of North American planning in the 21st Century and calling for a renewed interest in the human scale. “Homo Mobilis,” as well as my first film “Highway Grounds,” have been screened in Canada, the United States, Italy, Spain and Sweden; Homo Mobilis has won several awards including Best Experimental Film (ABQ Indie Film Festival) and Best Covid Film (Stockholm Short Festival).
Through a low-budget, observational style of documentary filmmaking, I work in an agile method, with the aim of exposing complex realities through the medium of film. Crows’ Commons was my first independent film, reflecting an interest in environmental issues through human and spatial practices. Since 2022, I have worked as a video producer for Herzog & de Meuron, documenting their built projects across Europe. The film “Project Observer” that I filmed and edited is currently exhibited at the Herzog & de Meuron exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In this work, I focused on everyday interaction between users and buildings of all scales and programs, identifying patterns in human behaviour and observing life in all its details. With LINA, I hope to expand the practice of sensitive observation and deepen my documentation of the Crows’ Commons, a project I believe can bring much wisdom to rural Europe.
I am a Serbian-Canadian architect and filmmaker. After studying architecture in Waterloo and Rome, and interning as an architect in Toronto, Vancouver, and Amsterdam, I decided to continue my studies at the Architectural Association in London. With an interest in human observation and the relationship of the body to the built environment, I joined the design unit of filmmakers Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine. Entitled “Homo Mobilis: Automobile Urbanism” my Diploma project (awarded with AA Comandation) consisted of a documentary film that studied the transformation of public space into car-dominated urbanism during the pandemic, forming a critique of North American planning in the 21st Century and calling for a renewed interest in the human scale. “Homo Mobilis,” as well as my first film “Highway Grounds,” have been screened in Canada, the United States, Italy, Spain and Sweden; Homo Mobilis has won several awards including Best Experimental Film (ABQ Indie Film Festival) and Best Covid Film (Stockholm Short Festival).
Through a low-budget, observational style of documentary filmmaking, I work in an agile method, with the aim of exposing complex realities through the medium of film. Crows’ Commons was my first independent film, reflecting an interest in environmental issues through human and spatial practices. Since 2022, I have worked as a video producer for Herzog & de Meuron, documenting their built projects across Europe. The film “Project Observer” that I filmed and edited is currently exhibited at the Herzog & de Meuron exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In this work, I focused on everyday interaction between users and buildings of all scales and programs, identifying patterns in human behaviour and observing life in all its details. With LINA, I hope to expand the practice of sensitive observation and deepen my documentation of the Crows’ Commons, a project I believe can bring much wisdom to rural Europe.