Within the context of Brussels, using a concrete example of a modernist utopia and the attempts to rehabilitate it, the movie WTC A Love Story explores whose narratives are voiced when the process of political representation is accelerated.

The screening is followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

Screening of WTC A Love Story, a film by Lietje Bauwens and Wouter De Raeve, 2020, 61min
In the 1970s, the populous neighborhood around Brussels-North Station was destroyed to make room for “Little Manhattan”, a modernist dream with the two World Trade Centre towers as its crown jewels. The project failed, leaving the towers and surrounding area largely abandoned. In 2017, the private owners and politicians joined forces to redynamise the area. But for whom? Who are the actors? And what is a public space? Fearing that history might repeat itself, Lietje Bauwens and Wouter De Raeve decided to enter the debate by making a film with the actors that claim a voice in the transition. Taking the WTC towers as its object, the film investigates contemporary urban redevelopment processes, and traces the influx of new ecological and participatory ideas and their actual impact.