À travers l’île
Joshua Frank
À travers l’île, the first part of this series, follows Xu Tiantian of DnA_Design and Architecture to Meizhou Island where, in collaboration with local communities and her team, she creates a set of small interventions spread across the island that mediate between heritage, tourism and mariculture pressures, and the marine ecosystem. By recording Xu Tiantian’s dialogues with villagers, fisherfolks and biologists, we focus on the importance of field research and the conceptual work that flows from it.
Director’s statement:
Groundwork : Into the Island is part of the Sur le terrain series, a three-part series of films and exhibitions exploring the conceptual and research processes of contemporary architects cultivating alternative modes of engagement with project sites. Using documentary as a curatorial tool, the CCA will adopt a critical perspective to examine the methods by which designers from diverse geographies and contexts interact with their environment during the preliminary stages of a project.
- Joshua Frank
Director’s statement:
Groundwork : Into the Island is part of the Sur le terrain series, a three-part series of films and exhibitions exploring the conceptual and research processes of contemporary architects cultivating alternative modes of engagement with project sites. Using documentary as a curatorial tool, the CCA will adopt a critical perspective to examine the methods by which designers from diverse geographies and contexts interact with their environment during the preliminary stages of a project.
- Joshua Frank
Also presented:
Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Canada (2024)
Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Canada (2024)
| Director | Joshua Frank |
| Director of Photography | Joshua Frank |
| Cast | TianTian Xu |
In Partnership with
Session
• Centre Canadien d’Architecture
Saturday, march 22, 2025, 02:00 p.m. — 03:04 p.m.
Production
Joshua Frank
Joshua Frank is a Montreal-born documentary filmmaker and musician. Raised in Beijing, Hong Kong and New Delhi, he’s drawn to the intersection of cultures, seeking out the insightful, absurd, and unexpected juxtapositions of tradition and technology, hyperlocal and universal.
As a director and cinematographer, Joshua’s films focus on labour, migration, food culture and architecture. He applies his background in small-footprint news and documentary shooting to share intimate, human stories, told with patience, high-production value, and journalistic rigour. His work has been presented by film festivals including Hot Docs, DOXA, RIDM, and the Brooklyn Film Festival, and broadcast by HBO, Showtime, VICE, the New York Times, and CBC. He is currently directing a series of three documentary films with the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.
As a musician, Joshua is active in the Beijing-based experimental duo Gong Gong Gong, a collaboration with Cantonese lyricist and guitarist Tom Ng. The pair’s minimalistic approach aims to establish a connecting thread between musical traditions from desert blues to techno and Cantopop. The group has been featured by Pitchfork, the New Yorker and Wire Magazine, performed at The Kitchen, MoMA PS1, and SXSW, and toured in Asia, Europe and North America.
Joshua is a founding member of the cross-cultural documentary collective HiLo. He holds an MA in News and Documentary from NYU and a BA in East Asian Studies from McGill; as an educator, he has lectured at NYU, the New School and Concordia University. Fluent in Mandarin, he speaks good enough French to communicate with shamans in Gabon.
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
As a director and cinematographer, Joshua’s films focus on labour, migration, food culture and architecture. He applies his background in small-footprint news and documentary shooting to share intimate, human stories, told with patience, high-production value, and journalistic rigour. His work has been presented by film festivals including Hot Docs, DOXA, RIDM, and the Brooklyn Film Festival, and broadcast by HBO, Showtime, VICE, the New York Times, and CBC. He is currently directing a series of three documentary films with the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.
As a musician, Joshua is active in the Beijing-based experimental duo Gong Gong Gong, a collaboration with Cantonese lyricist and guitarist Tom Ng. The pair’s minimalistic approach aims to establish a connecting thread between musical traditions from desert blues to techno and Cantopop. The group has been featured by Pitchfork, the New Yorker and Wire Magazine, performed at The Kitchen, MoMA PS1, and SXSW, and toured in Asia, Europe and North America.
Joshua is a founding member of the cross-cultural documentary collective HiLo. He holds an MA in News and Documentary from NYU and a BA in East Asian Studies from McGill; as an educator, he has lectured at NYU, the New School and Concordia University. Fluent in Mandarin, he speaks good enough French to communicate with shamans in Gabon.
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
In the same session
Centre Canadien d’Architecture
Saturday, march 22, 2025, 02:00 p.m.
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