The Socialist, The Architect and The Twisted Tower
A dramatic, behind-the-scene-story about the building of Santiago Calatravas Turning Torso in Malmö. A 190 meter high, twisted residential building which was appointed “worlds best residential building project” at Mipim in Cannes, 2005.
A film that shows thorny confrontation between dreams and reality: cultural clashes, financial crisis and heavy personal defeats. A hazardous project: the deposits are high, everyone in it has something to loose.

Johnny Örbäck is a former social democratic top-politician. At the moment he is MD at HSB Malmö. He sees Calatravas sculpture and falls in love. An idea is born- would it be possible to build such a house at the old shipyard area in Malmö?
The first sod is turned and the project grows, the budget is exceeded over and over. Johnny Örbäck is putting his own reputation at risk. “If this project is in trouble, I'm in trouble!”
Santiago Calatrava is an artist, an engineer and an architect. He has built bridges, airports, and opera houses all over the world. Turning Torso is his first skyscraper. It can't go wrong. It will lead the way to the capital of all skyscrapers: New York City.
Ingvar Nohlin is in charge of HSB's projects, and the one who handles the common intercessions between the entrepreneurs and the architects -the project must stay within the limits of the budget, without the design being neglected. It's an uneven struggle and he often curses the “damned Spaniards” who don't deliver the sketches in time.
The years pass and the project is delayed. In Malmö there is a raging debate over this “showpiece for the rich”. “A peoples-movement enterprise such as HSB should build for ordinary people.” The budget is now exceeded with nearly 800 millions. The pressure on all the involved is enormous. Will it be at all possible to finish the tower?
Through the key characters we get a unique glimpse of the world of architecture and of what happens when a vision meet the hard facts of reality.
The documentary filmmaker Fredrik Gertten follows the project from the turning of the first sod to the moment when the city has got its new landmark.
First prize at festival in Italy
"The Socialist, The Architect and the Twisted Tower" was awarded 1st Prize for best documentary competing in the Architecture Category Architecture at Doc Fest, Festival di Palazzo Venezia, in Italy. This internationally well-known festival presents films and documentaries on art, architecture, cinema and theatre.
The jurys motivation: "For the originality and narrative rhythm with which this film investigates the artistic, economic, and human premises behind one of the great projects of contemporary architecture."
Review in Leonardo: Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology
Artecinema screening in Neapel was full
1000 persons watches the film! The screening at Artecinema Festival in Neapel, Italy 10-19 th of October was crowded. Over 1000 persons watched the film and at the end there was a warm applause.
Screenings
Architecture Film Festival
2007.10.11 - 2007.11.14
Auckland + Wellington FF
2007.07.01
Durham, North Carolina, USA
2007.04.12 - 2007.04.15
Guggenheim, Bilbao Full Frame
2007.04.12 - 2007.04.15
Museum of Fine Arts
2007.04.01
Environmental Film Festival
2007.03.15 - 2007.03.25
Adelaide Film Festival
2007.02.22 - 2007.03.04
Stranger than Fiction
2007.01.08 - 2007.01.09
Santiago Calatrava Day
2006.11.08
Roshd International Film Festival
2006.11.03 - 2006.11.10
Artecinema Festival
2006.10.19 - 2006.10.22
Calgary International Film Festival
2006.09.22 - 2006.10.01
Festival di Palazzo Venezia
2006.09.15 - 2006.09.30
DOKU.ARTS - International Festival for Films on Art
2006.09.14 - 2006.09.17
Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival
2006.07.02 - 2006.07.16
Rhodes International Film + Visual Arts Festival
2006.06.20 - 2006.06.25
Documenta Madrid
2006.05.05 - 2006.05.14
International Festival of Films on Art - FIFA
2006.03.09 - 2006.03.19
The Socialist, the Architect and the Twisted Tower at 13 different cinemas in Spain!
"The Socialist, the Architect and the Twisted Tower" was selected film of the month in May, El Documental del Mes (program) by the catalan production company Parallel 40. The documentary of the month is an integrated project of CinemaNet Europe. A new documentary is selected each month through out the year and screened at several cinemas in Europe.
DVD-distribution in the United States of America
The internationell distributor of the film, First Hand Films in Zürich has written an agreement with Cinema Guild in New York for american DVD-distribution in the USA.