The fifth edition of SF(a) – Society. Film. Architecture took place in Iași between 4–12 May 2026, continuing the project’s mission to use science-fiction cinema as a critical tool for exploring architecture, culture, and society. Initiated by the cultural NGO ALT+A, organised in collaboration with the Romanian Order of Architects – Iași Branch and the “G.M. Cantacuzino” Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Iași, and with ASAI as a partner, SF(a)5 offered a nine-day programme of screenings, workshops, lectures, and exhibitions under the theme: “High-Rise & Late Modernism.”
Locations & Partners
The events were hosted across three venues: Zbor Hub by BCR, the “G.M. Cantacuzino” Faculty of Architecture, and NegruZI, with a guided tram tour extending activities into the city along the Târgu Cucu–Copou route, in partnership with TRAMCLUB Iași.
Participants
The edition registered 162 participants, predominantly from architecture (130, 80%), alongside 32 participants (20%)from other fields. Of these, 158 were undergraduate students and 4 were high-school pupils. Notably, 79 participants (49%) were returning from previous editions, while 83 (51%) joined SF(a) for the first time — a strong indicator of both sustained loyalty and continued growth in reach.
Programme
SF(a)5 was structured around the project’s five core axes:
- SF(a)Talks — a series of lectures bringing together voices from architecture, sociology, visual arts, literary criticism, and built heritage
- SF(a)Labs — practical workshops in alternative poster design, film and literary review writing, and paper-folding techniques (origami/kirigami) applied to architecture and design
- SF(a)Tour — a guided tram tour of Iași, tracing the Târgu Cucu–Copou route
- SF(a)Expo — the final exhibition opening showcasing participants’ work
- SF(a)Book — the launch of the bilingual collective volume Beyond Dystopia. Society, Architecture, and Cinema
The programme opened on 4 May and closed on 12 May with the joint exhibition vernisaj and book launch. 8 May brought together Dan and Lia Perjovschi with Gelu Duminică for one of the edition’s key public days.
Guest Lecturers & Tutors
The project gathered a distinguished roster of national and international guests, including Dan Perjovschi and Lia Perjovschi (visual artists, with presences at MoMA, Tate Modern, and Documenta 15), Gelu Duminică (sociologist, coordinator of the Împreună Agency Foundation), Dumitru Rusu (architect and researcher in socialist-modernist heritage, president of BACU, author of the “Socialist Modernism” guide series), Mário Say Ming Kong (architect and professor, FA-ULisboa), Viola Rühse (University for Continuing Education, Krems, Austria), Roxana Vasiliu (UAIC Iași), Adrian Mironescu (founder, Optimism Works), Alin-Enver Hoblea (President, OAR Iași), Mihai Bulai (UAIC Iași), and Ioana Cecălășan (Technical University of Cluj-Napoca).
Exhibition & Awards
The final exhibition showcased the creative outcomes of the edition. In total, 83 works were submitted (59 alternative posters and 24 literary/film reviews). The alternative poster competition featured a Director’s Choice award, judged by High-Rise director Ben Wheatley and screenwriter Amy Jump, won by student George-Teofan Sandu.
Core Vision
At its core, SF(a) Season 5 reaffirmed the project’s ethos: celebrating the collective act of learning, debating, and imagining together. By bridging cinema and architecture, dystopia and late modernism, collective housing and urban realities, SF(a) creates a unique pedagogical and cultural space that fosters both critical reflection and creative experimentation.